Yuri
by parry
Summary: Yuri is not used to being pampered, but when DJ Atomika approaches her after a quick run through on the slopes, she didn't realize that he would change her life! Set in SSX 3
1. Acquaintances

AN: Hello! Parry here! Well, I was kinda bored with my other story. It turned out WAY to fluffy for my tastes, so I decided to just test out another lil' story I have up my sleeve! Just was bored and was jotting it down. It turned out pretty good (to me, anyways) and I'm thinking about continuing it. What do you think? It all takes place within SSX 3, and I added my own character. This isn't one of those "I inserted myself in my fic". And guess what? She's not the "perfect" character either. She's kick ass!! Yay! She's a little slow at times, but that's what I like about her. Everyone in this story is fictional! No one was a remake of anyone I know. What really kind of inspired me to write a story that's in first person's point was really that fact that no one here in the SSX fan fics writes like that...so I thought I'd mix things up a bit! Cuz I do that!! Yeah!! By the way! Please!! PLEASE!!! REVIEW! I won't continue my story until someone tells me that it's at least "okay". I don't wanna continue a sucky story. Byez! XD  
  
Another thing: Sorry if you think the beginning's a little slow. The first race will come in chapter four. Promise!!  
  
Also: I don't own SSX!! Curses!!  
  
Intro:  
  
Name: Yuri Yoshioka AKA: Speedy Height: 4'11'' Weight: 102 Lbs. Age: 14 (and 7/8!!!) Hair color: Auburn Eye color: Brown Nationality: Japanese Friends: Nate Logan/Kaori Nishidake Enemy: Allegra Trick: Lounge-about Spinster Type: BX Movie: Paper Sky Music: Techno/Dance  
  
Chapter I  
  
I took a deep breath and watched as I saw two instantly recognizable people enter the hotel lobby.  
Zoe "Royal" Payne.  
The clever snowboarder that always managed to look cool to me, even if she was getting a face full of snow. The one I had watched rip slopes up on the television. She always was a kind of mentor to me...she was so beautiful and talented, and yet, she was also a real trip. Zoe was something else, a puzzle you can't help but try and figure out. She grinned as she high fived-  
Kaori Nishidake! Or in other text: "Tricky" Nishidake. The spunky energetic ball of "oomph" that was always making my brother and I laugh. I liked her the most. She had a great attitude, and I admired her for that.  
Zoe sat herself on a couch nearby the active fireplace while Kaori made herself comfortable on one of the biggest lounge chairs I had ever seen. They were here...in front of me!!  
And yet...here I am...living in their world! I shivered for some reason, slumping back behind the bookshelf, pretending to be interested in "The Fall of the Season" by someone named A. E. Smyth.  
...Right...  
The hotel had amazed me at first. It was so...huge. There was no other way to describe it! When they had picked me up earlier that day at 2 a.m., I was expecting the worst. Even the limo didn't surprise me. However, when they brought out a huge helicopter/airplane thingy that looked huge, I was surprised. At first, I refused to go in. I wouldn't get into that thing until the pilot said that I would be forfeiting my SSX career just because I was a little chicken. That pushed me. But still, even when I was cowering in the corner of the plane, the splendor and beauty of the terrain around me passing by, all I could think about was...would they like me or not? Was this some kind of joke? All I could remember was when I had been snowboarding with my cousin and all of the sudden, this clean cut guy approached me, his hand outstretched in a friendly gesture and a smile molded on his face.  
"Hello, there,"  
I remembered taking a step back cautiously, "Er...hi..."  
He laughed, "Don't worry, I don't bite,"  
I took his hand, still not convinced, and forced a smile. I didn't like this guy...  
"The name's Atomika. Well...er...not really...but that's my DJ name."  
"Yuri Yoshioka," I said.  
"Woa! You're a DJ?" Eric had asked him, fascinated.  
Atomika's eyes glistened behind his purple tinted goggles, "Yeah. You familiar with the SSX tour?"  
"Are we!? Are you kidding!? We LOVE SSX!" Eric said excitedly.  
"What are you getting at?" I asked suddenly, tilting my head to one side.  
"Well, I didn't think you would mind...but I watched you perform. You know, kid, you're not that bad." He grinned, pointing at me, "Ever think of boarding for the big league?"  
I was at a loss for words.  
"You sayin' you want her to board for SSX?" Eric said, hanging his board over his back.  
"Well, I'm not saying I could get your...er...your sister?"  
I shook my head, "We're cousins."  
"Anyway," Atomika said quickly, "I'm not saying I could get your, erm, cousin in the league...but I was thinking she could-if she wanted to, of course-you know, perform for the judges. She just might make it into the league."  
Eric glanced at me, "You!? In the big league? With the SSX stars!?"  
Atomika shrugged, "Maybe. Just how old are you, kid?"  
"Turning 15 this month," I said confidently.  
"Well, well, well." Atomika smiled mischievously, "You know, you might even break Mac's record,"  
"You mean Mac Fraser?" Eric said suddenly. Mac was his favorite boarder. "Mac Fraser from SSX?!"  
"Well...yeah. Mac joined when he was 15, making him the youngest boarder in the league to ever join. Now if you were accepted, you could break his record."  
(If I was accepted? Accepted? I could be ACCEPTED!?)  
"Yuri, close your mouth, you look like an idiot,"  
Open mouth. Insert foot.  
  
To make a long story short, I found myself shaking the hands of several men at the same time, each of them nodding and smiling. I caught a couple of phrases such as "great work," "we could use this one," "that was SICK!" and some other stuff, but I was still in a daze after Atomika had handed me his business card and told me he would contact me "if necessary". It turned out they had recorded my entire run and they were still fishing for other boarders, and I was a possible candidate! I couldn't believe it. Eric had laughed at me when we were making our way home.  
"You should've seen yourself! You were amazing! Except when you were shaking their hands. You looked like a complete idiot!"  
If I had been my normal self, I would've tackled him and knocked him senseless. However, all I could hear were the words "we could use this one" in my head over and over and over....  
  
Now, as I was standing there in the hotel lobby, watching my favorite boarders my family and I would watch on television and gasp and "ooh" and "ahh" at, I felt like running back to my house and hiding under a blanket. They wouldn't like me...I knew it...I was too young! They would treat me like a baby! Well, maybe Mac would at least give me his autograph for Eric before they booted me out-  
"WOA!! Check this pad out, man! You mean to tell me we're gonna be crashin' here? DAAAAAMN!"  
"Watch your mouth, kiddo,"  
Two more people came in, one was really tall and tough looking with a cowboy hat on and black sunglasses. The other one...I couldn't believe...  
He had to be eleven or twelve years old!  
"Aw, c'mon, Nate! You're not my dad, y'know!" The kid shoved him playfully as he landed on the couch, making himself comfortable. He stared at Zoe.  
"Watcha lookin' at, kid?"  
"I THINK it's Zoe Payne...but....no way...you can't be!"  
"Yeah?" Zoe smiled as her ego slowly rose, "Why not?"  
"Cause you're way too ugly to be her!!!"  
Kaori snickered, bringing her knees up to her chest as Zoe's eyes widened in shock. Zoe slowly rose up and loomed over the little boy, "You lookin' to get beat?"  
Nate (If that was his name) stepped up from behind the laughing kid and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Now, now, Griff. Already getting into fights, are we?"  
Griff (or at least I thought Nate called him Griff) only grinned. "I'm just havin' some fun!"  
Zoe sank back into the couch, glaring at Griff.  
"I can't believe it. They let some little punk like you in the tour?" She mumbled under her breath.  
(Oh no...if they don't like Griff, then they definitely won't like me!!)  
At least I didn't have to worry about being the "baby". I could already see Griff being an easy target for some of the other competitors. I imagined Luther looming over the poor kid, laughing and threatening to "smash 'em like a pancake" as Luther liked to put it.  
I shivered again. Luther was never really one of my favorite boarders. Well, who knows? Maybe Luther really was a nice guy. If he could befriend JP and become his boarding partner, maybe he really wasn't as bad as he seemed.  
"HEY!" A hand clamped down on my shoulder. I shrieked as I leapt into the air.  
DJ Atomika was laughing at me, not for the last time. He folded his arms and leaned forward, trying to stop the tears from coming from his eyes. "Hooooo, you're a real trip, Yuri. You know that?"  
I only glared at him.  
"Well?" He said innocently, "You gonna go join our other boarders by the fireplace or what? When everyone else arrives, I'll be starting the presentation. You might wanna catch a seat on the couch or something, or else you'll be stuck on the floor. There's a lotta us comin' you know,"  
I nodded reluctantly.  
Atomika grinned as he led me towards Kaori, Zoe, Griff, and Nate.  
"Hello, ladies and gents!" He said happily.  
"Who's the newbie?" Griff said immediately, cutting Atomika off.  
"Look who's talking," Zoe grunted. Suddenly, Zoe seemed like she was the greatest person in the world to me.  
"Do I sense tension already?" Atomika challenged, raising an eyebrow.  
"You betcha!" Zoe said loudly as Griff shook his head innocently. Nate stifled a laugh while Kaori fell off her chair laughing.  
Atomika sighed, "Anyway, this is Yuri...er..."  
"Yoshioka," I finished for him, blushing slightly.  
"Hey, why's she got the formal intro-ducto?" Griff whined.  
Atomika snorted, "From what I hear, you've made quite the introduction all by yourself,"  
Zoe muttered something unclear.  
Kaori smiled at me. "Hello, Yuri! I am Kaori!"  
I returned her smile, "Yuri Yoshioka,"  
"You were born in Japan, yes?"  
I nodded.  
"Me too!" Kaori giggled, "How old are you? You look young as Mackie when he first came here!"  
I completely forgot her question at the word "Mac", "You know Mac? Is he coming?"  
Kaori laughed and nodded, "Yes, I do! I am his partner after all! Now, how old are you?"  
"Oh!" I said, my cheeks heating. "I'm fourteen. But I'm turning fifteen this month!" I added quickly.  
Kaori nodded, "Oh, I see."  
"You know, Kaori, your English isn't that bad,"  
Kaori beamed, "Arigatou, Zoe,"  
"I think your English is better then Mac's by a long shot," Zoe pointed out, "With all the 'yo's' and 'dawg's' he says in one sentence, it's hard to understand the guy,"  
I took a seat on the couch across from Zoe and nodded in agreement. "My brother loves him, though. He copies every move Mac makes. It drives me crazy!"  
Kaori laughed and stood up, leaning against the lounge chair. "Yes, I know what you mean,"  
"Remember when he asked you out for pizza for the first time?" Zoe said, "He was like-"  
"Yo, Kaori, dawg, you thinkin' about catchin' a slice o' pizza sometime this evenin', yo?" Mac appeared from behind her and slipped his hands around her waist.  
"Ma-chan!" Kaori squealed, hugging him back.  
They both laughed as they embraced each other.  
(So...the rumors ARE true! They are a couple!)  
Atomika must have noticed me smiling because he leaned over and whispered in my ear: "Yeah, we like to keep stuff like that a secret. You know, what if they were ever to break up? They really wouldn't wanna be boardin' partners...you know what I'm sayin'? We like to keep their personal lives out of the media's grasp,"  
I nodded.  
Griff groaned, "Man!! What's takin' everyone so long? And when're we gonna board, man?"  
Atomika shrugged, "They get here on their own time, kid,"  
Mac stared at Griff for a minute as if he had metal poles sprouting from his ears. "Who the hell're you?"  
Kaori slapped the back of Mac's shoulder disapprovingly.  
"I'm your worst nightmare, yo!" Griff boasted.  
Nate sighed and massaged his forehead with his hand. "My God...this kid'll be the end of me..."  
I noticed Nate and laughed. Nate returned my smile as he stuck his hand out, "I'm Nate, pleased to meet you, Yuri,"  
"The pleasure's mine," I said. I soon realized what I said must've been the corniest thing in the world, but dismissed it when Nate continued.  
"I can't believe they'd let a twelve year old in on the league, I mean, sure I can imagine a fourteen year old," he added quickly when I raised my eyebrows, "but a twelve year old?"  
I nodded, "Yeah, this is gonna be interesting, huh?"  
Nate nodded, "This'll be the end of me, that's what." He sighed again, continuing to massage his head, "I guess it's up to me to protect the little smurf,"  
I laughed, "Smurf? I don't think he's a smurf. He's more like a...a..."  
"You rotten little cornball!" Mac spat after Griff had turned his back on him.  
Nate and I both raised our eyebrows and exchanged glances.  
"Right. Cornball."  
"Better than smurf," I said.  
Soon Nate and I were bursting out laughing.  
You know, this just might've been the greatest decision I had ever made. I couldn't wait to meet the rest of them! 


	2. Three Peaks, One Mountain

Chapter II  
  
AN: Don't worry, Yuri will find some enemies. Trust me. (Cue thunder and maniacal laughter)  
  
The doors swung open again, the snow pounding furiously on the windows. Moby emerged through the door, shaking off the snow and then looking up at us. This was Moby! THE Moby that my mother had constantly talking about with her girlfriends!  
"Moby..." I whispered, amazed. This guy was really cool in person. He had this air of "coolness" all around him. He was silent, and yet that only boosted his coolness factor in my eyes!  
He said Zoe and instantly smiled, "How's me love, eh?"  
Zoe flushed red and motioned for him to sit, "Hey, Mobes, nice to see you too,"  
I was so amazing to see these people interact with each other. My brother Ryan and I would always dream of meeting them one day. The closest we ever got was when we attended one race that had Luther, Marisol, Brodi, Eddie, and Seeiah in it. It was a real disappointment, though. That was the only race that had available seating by the time my father was able to find the time to go buy tickets. None of our favorite boarders were in the race, thought Eddie had always been pretty cool and Brodi wasn't that bad. It turned out we were late (and I mean REAL late), so late that we missed their photo shoots and autograph session. That's when it hit me...  
"Close friends," Atomika whispered in my ear again, "But no spark,"  
I nodded, "Yeah, okay. Whose love life do you NOT know about?"  
Atomika merely offered a mysterious grin and sat back in his chair. "Hey, if you're workin' with these people you might as well know about 'em, right?"  
"Atomika, are we gonna give out autographs and go through photo shoots before each event?"  
Atomika heaved a sigh, "Unfortunately."  
"What do you mean 'unfortunately'?" I squealed, "This'll be exciting!"  
"Yeah, it will the first couple of times, but by the end of the season, you'll be soooooo sick of those things you'll want to shoot yourself."  
Moby threw his board over her shoulder and collapsed on the couch. "Who're they?" he motioned to me, Griff, and Nate. "Hey Kaori," Moby nodded at Kaori and Mac. Mac only glared at him. Word was Mac and Moby didn't 'get along'.  
Atomika rolled his eyes when I brought that to his attention, "Mac and Moby are friends, they just refuse to admit it,"  
"Woa, there's a lotta stuff I need to learn, huh?"  
  
Atomika shrugged, "Not really, if you know how to trick and race, then yeah, you got it made. Just don't let these guys get the best of you off the track, okay?"  
I nodded.  
"That there is Yuri," Zoe pointed at me. Moby leaned over the coffee table and offered his hand. I took his hand, wincing at his strong grasp, and offered a nervous smile. I was shaking the hand of THE Moby Jones. A veteran of SSX. He smelled like...really good cologne!!  
Moby grinned, "'Ello, Yuri,"  
I beamed, "Hi...er...Mr. Jones,"  
"Moby,"  
"Moby," I repeated obediently.  
He grinned, "Calm down there, firecracker,"  
Atomika held back a laugh. He leaned towards me again when Moby let go of my hand.  
"Loosen up, will you?"  
I sighed, "I can't. I just shook Moby Jones' hand."  
Moby turned to Nate, the guy sitting next to me.  
"I'm Nate," Nate was the one that offered the hand in this situation. I decided I liked Nate. He was a very confident and strong man. He was cool.  
"Pleased to meet you, mate," Moby said.  
"Same,"  
"That THING over there is Griff." Zoe muttered, turning away.  
Moby tilted his head to one side, not quite sure what was wrong with Zoe, but dismissed it.  
"'Ello, there. You must be the youngest little bugger I ever saw in this league,"  
"That's because I am, big shot!" Griff scoffed.  
Moby looked offended, but ignored Griff in the long shot. Griff, irritated, wasn't through.  
"You know, I may look young, but I'll kick your ass on the slopes, man!"  
Moby's eyes widened as he stared at Griff in astonishment. He turned back to Zoe, "Zo, did 'e jus say-?"  
Zoe nodded, folding her arms. "You betcha."  
Moby turned to me, "And you must be about fifteen?"  
I swelled in pride, "No, I'm turning fifteen this month, though,"  
"She's very civilized compared to that lil' smurf,"  
Nate and I exchanged glances and held back our snorts of laughter.  
Just as Griff was about to retaliate, THE Psymon Stark burst through the doors, along with a red headed girl topped in freckles. A pale tall blonde guy followed, stealing glances at everyone occasionally.  
"Oh no..." Kaori whimpered and buried her face into Mac's chest. She had been sitting with Mac in the lounge chair, and when she caught sight of Psymon, I could swear all of the color in her face just melted right off of her. These people were so amazing when you got to meet them...so different in person.  
"Ah, it's Allegra and Viggo!" Atomika stood up immediately, welcoming them in.  
"Which one's Viggo and which one's Allegra?" Griff piped up. Elise, the blonde bombshell with an attitude of her own, strolled in looking very unsatisfied. Allegra and Elise were exchanging glances full of pure poison.  
  
"Why you little-" Allegra started, but Atomika put a hand on her shoulder.  
"Ah, ah, ah, I wouldn't if I were you. That little dude's said everything about everyone so far. Just let it go."  
Allegra clenched her fists and let out a sigh. She closed her eyes and shook it off. Psymon laughed at her and stared at me, intrigued. I sunk back into my seat, suddenly finding the coffee table the be very, very interesting.  
"Would yah look at that!" Psymon said, pointing at me. Psymon Stark was pointing at me!! What would Eric say?? "We got a mini-Kaori!!!"  
"Mini-Kaori has a name, thank you," Zoe said. Yes, I automatically registered the fact that Zoe was very cool in my mind by then.  
"Oh? And what is it?"  
"Yuri." I said. I was afraid of Psymon. He was very intimidating in person, but I had always loved the way he boarded. My other cousin Roy idolized him.  
"She's a Jap-Jap!!" Psymon declared, "She's a mini-Kaori!"  
Kaori glared at him. Mac shook his head as he stroked her hair. Zoe rolled her eyes, along with Atomika and Nate.  
Moby sighed and fell back into the couch, "Aw, give it a rest, mate. You've been torturing Kaori all these years, you gonna start on another?"  
Psymon tilted his head, "As a matter of fact..."  
Elise made herself as comfortable as she could on the floor and threw Psymon a look. "Yeah, just give it up, Psy, no one cares."  
Psymon shrugged and fell onto the couch between Griff and Moby and stared at me intently. It was kind of funny to see Griff sitting next to Psymon. It was like all of Griff's attitude completely vanished when Psymon sneered at him. Griff shrunk off to the corner of the couch, bonding with the armrest.  
The pale blonde man-Viggo, I think his name was-wandered off to the side, keeping quiet.  
Atomika grinned, "All right! I think that's the lot of you,"  
"What? Eddie's not here?" Elise said quickly, getting up.  
"I'm afraid so. Eddie isn't on this list here," Atomika's eyes scrolled down the clipboard he was holding and nodded, "Yeah, that's pretty much the rest of you."  
Well, I was satisfied. I was gonna be living with my favorite boarders, along with a few new ones, and competing with them! Competing with the boarders of the SSX league!!!  
Atomika cleared his throat, "Right. Well, I guess I better be summarizing the mountain up, eh?"  
All of us exchanged looks and nodded. "Yeah, yeah, just get on with it so we can get to boarding!" Psymon said, leaning back in the couch, ready to dose off.  
Atomika ignored his comment and handed each of us a small replica of the mountain we were on. "This," Atomika said proudly, "Is the three peak mountain that you are currently resting on."  
"Yeah? What about it?" Psymon muttered, "Doesn't look so big bad and wolfish to me..."  
Out of no where, a pillow came whizzing by my head. I ducked a squeaked involuntarily, and the pillow landed straight at Psymon's head. Everyone laughed and turned to see a very satisfied Elise smiling and waving at Psymon sweetly.  
Psymon growled but chose to ignore her. "I'll get you for that one, Riggs,"  
"Just try, twinkle toes!" Elise taunted.  
"That's enough, kids," Atomika said, though he was smiling himself.  
Atomika pointed to the smallest and shortest little peak on the mountain. "Now, this is Peak One."  
"Dar," Griff said loudly, "We can see that!"  
"You're worse than Psymon-san!" Kaori said angrily. "Please, let him speak!"  
Griff muttered under his breath as Atomika went on, "Well, according to last year's trophy winners, they will be the ones conquering the peaks first. Mac, since you won third place in last year's tour overall, you will be the master of Peak One."  
Griff snorted, "Big deal!! He won't be the master for long!"  
Another pillow collided into the side of Griff's head, "Kid, if you don't shut up, I'll throw more than a pillow at you," Elise muttered coldly.  
Mac nodded and grinned, proud of his new position. Kaori kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly.  
Atomika went on: "Now, the officials thought it unfair that the veteran's would be taking over the peaks...so for the second peak, we thought it would be interesting to let the newbie's go all out on it to battle for the throne of the second peak. How's that sound?"  
My stomach dropped. My face turned pale. My hands began to shake. How could they do that? I would've been perfectly content with having a veteran take over Peak Two! I sighed as I imagined a small speck called Yuri feebly trying (and failing miserably) to crawl across the finish line. I imagined Griff laughing at me. "She's older than me and I still beat 'er!" Instead, Griff said this:  
"Oh, man! The second peak is mine!!" Griff said triumphantly, "I'ma kill that peak!"  
  
Elise cleared her throat loudly. Griff shrank back with the armrest. I smiled. Griff was beginning to like that armrest.  
Atomika smiled, "So? You newbie's gonna show us what you got?"  
Nate grinned, "You betcha,"  
Zoe blushed, realizing he said it that same way she had earlier.  
I would have to compete with Nate, Griff, Allegra, and Viggo for Peak Two...not cool...  
I had only befriended one person out of the four! Allegra and Nate kept their distance from the entire conversation, remaining silent. Also, I wouldn't think of Griff as a "friend". More like a pain.  
Atomika winked at me. He must have seen my expression of complete horror. "Don't worry about it. You guys'll do great. Besides, based on some of the talent we saw out there on the track while we were scouting for newbie's, I think you could take some of these so called 'all-stars',"  
"Man, I KNOW I can take 'em all! Especially him!" Griff pointed at Mac.  
Mac narrowed his eyes and muttered, "You, me. Peak One. After you get beat on Peak Two."  
Griff smiled, "You got it!" Griff then suddenly realized what he had said and shrank back into his seat. Everyone was laughing.  
"So, the little bugger admits he'll lose at Peak Two?"  
"No!" Griff pouted, "I did not! I just didn't catch the last words he said..."  
Atomika sighed and chose to ignore Mac and Griff's heated argument, "Well, that leaves the ruler of Peak Three. That will be, based on the overall ranking of last year's SSX Tour, Psymon Stark,"  
Psymon grinned, remaining quiet.  
"This is gonna be one helluva year!!" Zoe said excitedly, "When do we start??"  
"Anytime you want," Atomika replied. "Tomorrow morning, however, at seven in the morning, I need all the newbie's to report to the top of Peak Two. The helicopter out back will be ready to take you all. The plane is leaving at six thirty. No exceptions. Is that clear?"  
There were nods and murmurs. I nodded nervously when I met Psymon's stare.  
"Okay. Be sure to note this: There are avalanches. Storms. Possible death situations." Atomika was smirking slightly... "Now I suppose I have to get on with the boring stuff..."  
Atomika pulled out a long sheet of paper and took a deep breath, "Initially, only the first peak and its basic races and freestyle events are available to all of you. As you place in the top three-out of six-in these events, you'll gain access to more events, and, eventually, you'll gain access to the other peaks. Each peak, in turn, has its own events for you to participate in. Understood?"  
Everyone nodded.  
"The races and freestyle events have the same, basic goals as ever: Respectively, you're either trying to make it to the finish line first, or you're trying to make it to the finish line with as many points as possible. You earn points by performing tricks, and I am sure you need no explaining for that." Psymon grunted in agreement. "In addition to these two main types of events, you'll find other things to do just by exploring the mountainside. You can ride on to challenge beacons which let you attempt 'big challenges.' These are essentially mini-games which set such goals as having to jump through a series of hoops or demanding that you run into a series of punching bags on the way down that part of the slope. It can be difficult just to find and run into these beacons on your way down, and, generally, the mini-games offered aren't as exciting as the main events we have to offer. Even so, it can be a lot of fun exploring the three peaks, and I highly recommend you try those mini games out. You get extra cash for being in the mini-games. You're not forced to participate in the games, though,"  
Atomika grinned, letting his words sink into us. There was so much to do! "In addition to the goals associated with the main events, there are goals based on how many challenges you've completed, how much cash you've collected out of the mini-games, and how much cash you've earned on a peak overall." Atomika said, "Ranking will depend on the amount of cash you have at the end." Atomika stacked his papers on the coffee table. He glance at his watch and sighed, "Okay, I think that about sums it up. Tomorrow morning, I expect all newbies at Peak Two. The pilot will know where to take you. It will be just a short run down the mountain, and it's only just to determine who will conquer Peak Two. You won't earn anything. Clear? And SSX vets, you're welcome to watch. It will just be a short run down the back country, okay?"  
Every nodded and jumped up, eager to carry their luggage and boards to the lodge's rooms. I only followed suit, my stomach dragging behind me. There were so many things I had to learn and understand in this thing... 


	3. Rude Awakening

Chapter III  
  
AN: I don't own the song Poor Leno by Röyksopp! It is a kick ass song on the soundtrack for SSX 3! Buy it! (I should get paid for advertising, huh?) I also don't own Frosted Flakes. It's a kick ass cereal that's part of a complete breakfast! Buy it!! (Damn, I'm good!) Anyway, I don't really like this chapter that much, not a lot of action. It's all humor and fun that I wrote purely to entertain myself. However, I promise that the fourth chapter will kick! I like it a lot! I already wrote it, but just cause I'm mean, I'd like to keep you in suspense! But, to make up for my cruelty... ~I have a goodie for those who have SSX 3!~ It's a cheat! :D It goes like this: to unlock Eddie to play, select options while in the main menu. Inside the options select cheats. A keyboard will appear. Type the word "worm" (case sensitive). Press done on the keyboard and the cheat has been entered. Do I not rock?!? Anyway, on with the story!!  
  
I found myself stuck with Griff, unfortunately. No one had wanted to bunk with him, and everyone was eager to find anyone else but the bouncing blonde booger.  
I unloaded my stuff in one corner of the room, keeping my distance from Griff. He was jumping up and down on the bed, humming a tune I recognized but couldn't name. I pulled out my small stereo and popped a CD in. Poor Leno by Röyksopp. One of my favorite songs. Griff stopped jumping at stared at my stereo. "Hey, that's not a bad song. Kinda sad, but kinda cool,"  
I smiled, "Thanks."  
Griff grinned, "Hey, I know I was a little to excited out there-"  
"Yeah, I know," I said, turning back to unload all of my snowboarding gear Atomika had given me earlier.  
"I'm sorry. My name's Griff. Griff Simmons. Soon to be the world's greatest snowboarder."  
I offered a smile. "My name is Yuri Yoshioka."  
"Yeah I kinda got that,"  
I rolled my eyes and placed a picture of me, Eric, Roy, and Ryan on my nightstand. I left the snowboard Atomika had given me in the corner of the room, not even glancing at it. I don't know why, but it was going to be weird for me, using a snowboard that I've never even looked at before, out on the slopes in front of all the other competitor's and millions of viewers worldwide.  
"Aren't you nervous?" I asked Griff, turning back to him.  
Griff stopped bouncing and shook his head, "Naaah. I know I can take 'em," he said proudly.  
"I wish I could say the same." I sighed and collapsed on the bed.  
"Hey, aren't you gonna go out and practice?"  
I moaned and rolled over. "Right now, I've just realized that I'm going to embarrass myself out there in front of the world's greatest snowboarders. Suddenly, I don't feel so good."  
Griff sighed, "Look, you're worried about embarrassing yourself in front of the world's greatest snowboarders? Guess what? I'm a part of the world's greatest snowboarders and SO ARE YOU!!!" Griff shouted the last three words and smothered me in pillows. "PILLOW FIGHT!!!!"  
  
I jumped up and retaliated, throwing two pillows back at him, knocking him off the bed. He laughed, his head popping up over the side of the bed. A lazy grin was spread across his face and his blond hair was going in every direction imaginable. It was impossible not to laugh at his stupid smirk! He threw more pillows at me and suddenly the door swung open.  
I jumped back, expecting the worst, but if was only Nate.  
"What's going on in-"  
Several things happened at once. I remember swirling around to look at Griff only to see him hurling a pillow at Nate. Then I remember Nate yelling "bloody murder!" and his hat soaring into the night with a song in its heart. The pillow bounced off Nate, and the next thing I knew, he tackled Griff and began strangling him! Just then Elise poked her head in and took one look at Griff and Nate and screamed, "Big man Nate's killing Griff!!!"  
  
Suddenly, it seemed like all of the SSX boarders were in my lodge room!!!  
Mac was staring in awe at Griff, rooting for Nate and so was just about everybody. Kaori was too afraid to do anything. I was frozen on the spot, staring in horror as Griff kicked Nate in the stomach. Nate groaned and rolled over, out of breath. "Help me, Yuri!!"  
I screamed when Griff turned his attention to me. He picked up a nearby pillow, erupted in a battle cry, and lunged at me. I covered myself and screamed, but next thing I knew, Elise tackled him with a pillow.  
Suddenly we all froze and stared at each other. Griff was on his back on the floor, panting heavily. Elise was looming over him, clutching a pillow and smiling triumphantly. Nate's eyes were widened and a hint of a smile played along his face. I was backed up against the wall, still in shock. The rest of the SSX boarders were frozen on the spot, crowding the door frame that lead into my room.  
Next thing I knew, all of the boarders poured in and had one helluva pillow fight!  
Kaori and I teamed up and went for the kill! Allegra, I noticed, wasn't as intimidating as I thought she was. On the contrary, she was giggling as Moby and Nate pounded her with pillows! Meanwhile, Psymon Stark hurled a pillow at my head, screamed, "DIE MINI-KAORI!" and tackled me. Mac jumped on his back and began choking him from behind, and Kaori gasped, struggling to help me up.  
Elise and Griff were still having a show-down. Griff was on her back, like some evil little munchkin thing that had attached itself to her. Elise was screaming, "It's got me! It's got me! Get it off before it sucks my blood! ARRRGH!"  
Psymon threw Mac off his back and the two began a game of "chicken". Mac flinched when Psymon made a move for him, but kept his guard.  
I peaked out of the corner of my eye and saw that the only one not participating in the pillow fight was Viggo. It was odd, here we were, having fun, and here was Viggo, shying off to the side and leaning against the wall with his arms folded. He was a little too shy for my tastes. I shrugged and launched a pillow at Zoe, who was having a bit of trouble with remaining neutral in the pillow war. That was it! I dragged her in! Zoe laughed as she threw a pillow at me. I toppled over, a little dazed.  
Suddenly, Atomika yelled, "STOP FIGHTING!!!!" from the door.  
We all froze (Griff was still on top of Elise) and stared at him in horror.  
Atomika narrowed his eyes and stared at each and every one of us. "You know," he started, bringing his sunglasses to his face, "I am VERY disappointed in you. You decide to have a pillow fight right after I tell you not to cause any trouble..." (Insert awkward pause) "And you don't invite ME!?"  
Everyone groaned and threw pillows all over Atomika.  
You know, this was pretty cool. I even stopped being nervous about the race for Peak Two that was tomorrow.  
But then again, I couldn't escape it. Eventually, I would have to face the best in the league. In the back of my mind, I kept wondering, was I even SSX material? Did they make some horrible mistake and bring in someone that wouldn't compare with the others? I was still worried, even as Atomika's pillow flew into the side of my head, nearly knocking me unconscious.  
  
BUZZZZZZZZZZ....  
I jumped out of the bed and fell over. The alarm clock was blaring in my ears, and I was still dazed from last night's Pillow Fight.  
I rubbed my head and groaned. Four in the morning....  
It was way too early to begin the day... I hadn't even gotten out of the shower last night till eleven!  
I looked over at Griff. He was sleeping soundly, despite the alarm clock blaring in his ears. I shook my head and sighed. That kid was weird. The alarm clock stopped suddenly, and Griff jumped up.  
"W-wha-?"  
"Wake up sleepy head!" I said happily, "We have a show-down today!"  
Griff suddenly beamed, "Oh yeah! I gotta kick everyone's butt today! No problem!"  
I sighed. I was still in my pajamas, just the standard blue sweat pants and white t-shirt, and decided it was time to fill my stomach. I realized I hadn't eaten since the little muffin they let me snack on yesterday while riding on the plane to the mountain. However, my stomach had been a little to busy doing jumping jacks to even notice the muffin.  
I pushed the sheets off of me and combed my hair. It was okay hair, considering that it was always in my face and sometimes annoying. But I knew I had pretty hair. I liked my hair, but sometimes, I would get aggravated and just pull it back into a sloppy bun. I dismissed my hair's behavior put on my slippers. I opened the door and Griff stopped me.  
"Hey, Yuri?"  
"Hmm?"  
"You think we'll do okay against the vets?"  
"I dunno," I said, closing the door behind me. The truth was, I didn't think so. I didn't think we would stand a chance.  
  
I walked into the breakfast nook to find Viggo sitting there, eating a bowl of Frosted Flakes.  
"Hello," I said cautiously.  
"Hey," I murmured, staring back into his bowl.  
"Your name's Viggo, right?"  
  
He nodded, "And you're Yuri,"  
"Right."  
I scanned the cabinets, not sure where I should start looking for the pop-tarts.  
"They're in cabinet on the far left." Viggo said suddenly, interrupting my thoughts.  
"Thanks," I said when I opened the cabinet door to find every single breakfast food available.  
I put the pop-tarts on a plate and sat across from Viggo. "Are you excited?"  
  
Viggo shrugged, "More nervous than excited, but still excited,"  
  
"Yeah, me too," I sighed, "I'm not really sure the newbies'll be able to take the vets on."  
"I know for a fact that Allegra can,"  
"Allegra?" I asked, "You mean you've seen her board?"  
  
Viggo nodded, "She's amazing. It's awesome just to watch her board. She boards with...how would you say it...she boards with a soul. She's really into the sport," Viggo said, shaking his spoon at me.  
"Yeah, she looks very-"  
"Intimidating?" Viggo finished, smirking.  
  
I nodded.  
"Yeah, I kinda caught that off her too." Viggo said. "You know, there are rumors about her being the new poster girl. Atomika's gonna mention it sometime today or tomorrow."  
"What? Are you jealous?" I giggled.  
"Not really."  
There was a silence, and I suddenly found the design on the plate to be very interesting....  
"You board with music?" Viggo said suddenly, looking up at me.  
"You mean like Mac?"  
Viggo nodded.  
"Yeah, occasionally. It helps me relax,"  
"That's cool, but I can't board with music. I have to hear the mountain to be able to relax,"  
"Really?"  
"Yeah I know, it sounds weird, doesn't it?" Viggo sighed and looked down at his bowl of frosted flakes.  
"Not at all," I smiled.  
"You're not that bad, kid," Viggo returned my smile and laughed quietly. "I'll see you on the slopes, okay?"  
I nodded, "Bye, Viggo,"  
I was alone in the breakfast nook once again, staring down at my pop- tarts, glad I had made another friend. I don't think I would be able to stand it if I had made any enemies on the tour. Little did I know that I would be making an enemy very soon. And that enemy would prove to be the end of me, in a way. 


	4. Race For Peak Two

Chapter IV  
  
AN: I don't own Glass Danse by The Faint. And yes, that is another song off the SSX 3 soundtrack. Yay! XD This is my favorite chapter so far! Also, Starlight, you are the coolest fan an author can have!!! Sorry, I don't know how to get JP! I know how to get Luther, though! :D All you do is type in "bronco" instead of worm! Yes, I read your idea on Yuri hooking with Nate. Hmm, I'll have to think about it. And the whole thing about Allegra being the poster girl, you are correct! You'll see later in the story how Elise and Allegra become good "friends" (heh, heh) Well, anyway, on with the story!  
  
It turned out all the SSX vets would be watching the newbies race for Peak Two. It was very scary. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. There was no one in the audience and no one was recording us, but just to have the vets watching us was nerve-wrecking. I was warming up, fixing up my board when Nate approached me. "Hey, kid, no sweat, okay?"  
I offered a weak smile, "Right. The best snowboarders in the world are in the audience stands watching me compete for Peak Two against some of the most amazing boarders here. No sweat..."  
Nate laughed, "You know, Yuri, you're pretty cool. Be sure to let us know who you are! I expect you to put up a good fight, Yuri!"  
Before he could walk away, I teased him playfully, "Sorry, Nate, you won't get a fight! I'll be too far ahead for you!"  
Nate chuckled as he walked away to tend to his own board, "We'll see about that,"  
Griff pointed at me, "Yo, Yuri! You better watch out! I'ma knock you down!"  
I grinned and scooped up a ball of snow, packing it together. "Hey Griff! Heads up!" Griff turned around just in time as the snowball collided into his face.  
Griff groaned, shaking his head, his hair going all over the place with snow flying in all different directions, "Aww, man! That's cold!"  
Zoe waved at me from the crowd, "Nice one, Yuri!"  
I felt my cheeks grow red again as I strapped my boots to the board. I glided over to the gates, and took my place between Griff and Allegra.  
"Hi, Allegra." I offered, "Good luck,"  
Allegra ignored me and pulled her beanie over her head. "Right..." I said, feeling completely stupid.  
I put my headphones on and smiled happily. This was just the right song to provide me some motivation! Glass Danse by The Faint. It was a remix, of course, which only made it better.  
The red light still glowed, taunting all of us. Griff, I noticed, had changed his attitude completely. No longer the bouncing ball of energy we all knew, Griff narrowed his eyes and began pumping his arms on the bars, preparing for a push off. This only made me more nervous. Allegra laced up her boots, paying no attention to me, and cracked her knuckles.  
Everyone seemed to become one with the mountain.  
Everyone but me.  
The red light began blinking rapidly, warning the boarders that it was nearly time to begin the race.  
The veterans were cheering, but I couldn't hear who they were cheering for. I had put my music on max volume, the beat pounding into my ears.  
Suddenly, a green light flashed into my eyes. I pushed forward, keeping my place between Griff and Allegra. Nate was already far ahead of us. I envied him. He would win it, I was sure of it. It was still a little dark out, it being almost six-thirty in the morning, but we could all see just fine. Allegra swerved to the left, on Nate's tail. Griff growled and leaned forward, trying to pass me. Amazingly enough, I kept my place. I looked around and saw that I was ahead of Viggo and Griff, but behind Nate and Allegra. This sucked! Nate was already far ahead of me, and Allegra was slowly accelerating towards him. We approached a small ramp and pushed off; I executed a Round-about Spinster. It was my favorite move my uncle had taught me years ago. It was really impressive and looked pretty cool when you did it right, however, I the heel of my boots scraped the end of the snowboard when I was spinning, and I messed up. I managed to land on my feet, however, and not my head; it felt like my ankles were crushed. Nevertheless, I narrowed my eyes and pushed towards Allegra.  
"Dammit," I heard her mutter as she swung at me. I ducked and swerved to the right, not wanting to piss her off even further. Suddenly, Viggo came out of no where and passed me and Allegra. Determined to catch up with him, I ignored Allegra's threats and followed him, taking third place along the way. Suddenly, it felt like I was flying. I had never gone so fast before, and this board...it was putting up with my speed! This was amazing! I shot down the mountain, racing neck and neck with Viggo.  
He gave me a thumbs up, "See if you can beat me!"  
I nodded and narrowed my eyes. I could do this. If I could pass Allegra and Griff, and somehow manage to keep up with Viggo, I could do this.  
Viggo, however, proved to be tough. I couldn't pass him. Not one bit. I was determined to prove myself to the veterans. I wanted them to know that I could handle them. I wanted them to know that I could take them on. I wasn't like Griff, despite my age. On the contrary, I was the complete opposite.  
Viggo suddenly slowed down. I pushed onwards, dodging the oncoming trees and rocks. This was it! I was going too fast! I couldn't take this! Eventually I was going to break down and lock my knees. I had never gone so fast before. But suddenly, I felt invincible. I am in 2nd place. I am behind one person, everyone else is behind me. I can win this. I can win this.  
I jumped onto a fallen tree and performed a 180 degree spin while on the tree.  
I landed confidently. I knew, however, I wouldn't find Nate. He was way too far ahead of me, and I would never catch him. I looked behind me. Viggo was behind me, trying to keep Allegra at bay. I watched, though, as Allegra swung at him and knocked him down.  
Holy shit! Viggo!  
Allegra was going to pommel anyone who stood in her way of the grand prize, and I was in her way! Suddenly, my knees felt like shaking and collapsing and I felt like giving up. Allegra was approaching me fast, I had to do something!  
Viggo was tumbling down the mountain; he put his hands up to stop his head from hitting the snow. He wouldn't stop tumbling! The mountain's back country was way too steep!  
I couldn't even see Griff. He must've been far behind.  
I stopped looking behind me and leaned forward. I couldn't let Allegra catch me. This wasn't for Peak Two anymore; it was a matter of pride. I wasn't about to let her take me. Despite the music blaring in my ears, I still heard Griff scream when he landed and nearly broke his ankle.  
I looked over my shoulder and saw that Griff had taken Allegra's spot, and was taunting her. I turned my music down so I could hear Griff ridicule her.  
"C'mon, Allegra, you gonna let me take your pathetic excuse for a ranking? C'mon, you're in fourth, now, you suck!"  
It was one of the many times Griff brought a smile to my face. He was busy taunting Allegra, and I was free enough to notice the small tunnel on the right. I made sure Allegra and Griff weren't looking, and then swerved into the tunnel at the last minute, nearly cracking my board on the wall on the way. A shortcut! Finally!  
The tunnel was really small, and I was even afraid I would hurt myself if I stood up straight. My speed only increased my uneasiness, and I could only pray that the opening for the tunnel would arrive soon enough.  
Suddenly, I shot out of the opening and saw the finish line. Nate was relaxing in the snow, his board lying next to him.  
I tried coasting to a stop, but I shot past the finish line. Nate jumped towards me and tried to stop me by grabbing my shoulders. I nearly fell flat on my face; I didn't realize I was going so fast!!  
"Woa! Yuri!! Slow down!"  
I was panting heavily, and Nate would later tell me I looked like I had seen a ghost. I took off my head phones and collapsed on the snow.  
"You need to work on slowing down, Speedy,"  
"Speedy?" I wheezed, out of breath.  
"Yeah, you were going pretty damn fast. Who was behind you?"  
Soon enough, his question was answered. Griff came rocketing down the path, Allegra close behind.  
Griff toppled over himself when he passed the finish line, and Allegra looked ready to kill.  
"You!" she screamed, "You screwed me up!"  
She was pointing at me!  
"What?"  
"I coulda won that race," she muttered furiously.  
Griff scoffed, "Yeaaaaah, riiiiiiiiiiight..."  
Allegra clenched her fist and nearly lunged for Griff, but Nate stopped her. "Calm down, Allegra. Where's Viggo?"  
"She knocked him down," Griff said quickly.  
"So? The veterans do it all the time."  
Nate sighed. "Alright, so where's Atomika?"  
"Hey!! Over here!"  
Sure enough, when I turned around, I saw Atomika coming down towards us, followed by the veterans.  
"Nate, that was sweeeeet!" Nate and Mac slapped hands and he laughed with him.  
"Yeah, that was pretty good, mate," Moby grinned, "I can't believe they actually found these guys. Pretty cool,"  
I grinned. So, we weren't as bad as I thought. Cool. I just beat Allegra. Oh yeah.  
Life is good.  
"Yuri!" Kaori squealed, jumping up and down, "I am sure that if it had been a long distance race, you would have won! You were like a blur!!"  
Zoe nodded, "Yeah, girl, that was a sweet run,"  
I blushed, looking down at my boots, "It was nothing..."  
Psymon narrowed his eyes, "Cheerios over there got lucky."  
My face grew even redder.... I hated Psymon!  
Wait a minute...CHEERIOS!?!?!??!?!  
"WHAT?!?!"  
  
"Cheerios. You equals cheery. Cheerios." Psymon said simply, folding his arms and grinning like a fool.  
Atomika smiled, he must've been glad to see that we were all getting along (Ha, ha), despite Psymon's comment. "I'm very happy to have to newbies with us this year. I'm sure you'll put up one helluva fight against the veterans."  
Elise nodded, "Yeah, you shoulda seen yourself Nate. Not bad,"  
"What about me?" Griff piped up.  
"Well, to tell you the truth, kid, you weren't that bad," Psymon sneered, "I'd like to race you one day,"  
Griff inched behind Nate, laughing nervously. "Heh, yeah, someday..."  
Mac roared in laughter, along with everyone else.  
"Well, anyway, I have these little thingamabobbers to hand out to you guys." Atomika stated, pulling out a large black sports bag he had been carrying with him all day. He pulled out a silver pocket pc thing. Atomika handed each of us one of the little things.  
"What are these little wiggers?" Moby asked, fumbling with his.  
"These little 'wiggers' are called 'M-comms'," I grabbed one eagerly and stared at it. It was silver, like a pocket pc thing. "You can send messages to each other and listen to me, DJ Atomika, on the radio. You could also send in requests for songs, too."  
"SWEEEET!" Griff exclaimed, "My parents don't even trust me with a typewriter, man!"  
Suddenly, my M-comm beeped.  
I selected the flashing envelope and saw a message from Griff.  
  
Can you hear me now?  
-Griff  
  
I gave Griff the 'peace' sign and as he said "Good!" and shoved Griff playfully. "Very funny,"  
"These things are important," Atomika said sternly, "I want you to take good care of these M-comms. The officials spent a lotta money on that,"  
Psymon rolled his eyes, "Its like when my mom bought me my first chainsaw. 'Be careful!' she always said!"  
We all shook our heads and Atomika lead us back to the helicopter. Griff and I were talking about the cool new M-comm's Atomika had just given us when Mac roughly grabbed Griff by the collar of his silver jacket. "C'mon, kid, we got a race to do," Mac muttered fiercely.  
"Oh shit..."  
Kaori leaned close to me, "Mac is a very serious competitor this year. He woke me at three in the morning to tell me he is to practice!"  
I shook my head and stifled a laugh when Griff continued to lash on Mac. "Yo, man, you think I'm gonna back down? You better take a step back, man, or I'm gonna have to land you a smack down!"  
"What!?" Mac bellowed, "Did this little punk just use my phrase? What!?"  
"You betcha!" Griff said triumphantly.  
"Did I GIVE you permission to talk?"  
"Oh yeah?"  
"Yeah!"  
"Yo, Atomika!" Griff said, "We're takin' the helicopter thingy to Peak One! Drop us off there so I can show Mac what a REAL snowboarder can do!"  
Mac glared at him murderously, preparing to dive for him. Kaori wrapped her arms around his shoulders, "No, please don't,"  
Mac shrugged but continued to glower at Griff, who only laughed.  
Atomika nodded. "Alright, I'm guessing the rest of you will want to practice as well?"  
"Sure, sure, but I'm going to Peak Three. Take me!" Psymon spread his arms dramatically, "I'm all yours!"  
Atomika shook his head disapprovingly at Psymon's lack of manners, "Alright, whatever. Anyone else?"  
Nate stepped up. "I'ma stay here and get to know the track a little,"  
"Alright, if that's what you want. When you need someone to pick you up, you just call us on your M-comm, okay? Everyone be sure to check in on the radio station once in a while, there could be some valuable info you should look out for,"  
We all nodded and piled into the back of the plane, save Nate. I waved at Nate, "Good-bye! Be careful!"  
Nate nodded and gave me a thumbs up, "You make sure you make everyone knows who you are, Yuri,"  
"I will," I whispered to myself. Oh yeah, you bet I will.  
  
The plane landed soon enough, much to Psymon's disapproval. "You call that a ride? I've been on elevator crashes that were more peaceful!" Psymon was looking a little pale; he imitated throwing up.  
Kaori pinched her nose, "Eww, nasty, Psy-mon!!"  
That only caused Psymon to cut up more, "Ah, Kaori my sweet," He sneered, "You're welcome to join me on the third peak for a show-down,"  
Kaori turned away, "No way! You kill me!"  
Psymon lowered his head and grinned, "You know it. Or...you know what?" Psymon turned his attention to me, "I might just kill the mini-Kaori over here,"  
My loathing for Psymon had been rising ever since yesterday, but so had my fear. I trembled, but I tried to remain my composure. I couldn't let Psymon get the best of me. Despite my wishes, though, I shook uncontrollably.  
Almost immediately, the doors opened, and we found ourselves looking down at the most amazing and menacing track any of us had ever seen. The wind was incredible! Psymon's hair whipped around while he strapped his board on and stared out into the course. "Woa," he said, grinning, "It looks more intimidating then me!"  
"And that's saying a lot," Zoe laughed.  
Psymon smirked at his friend and prepared to leap out to the final peak. He took off yelling his trade-mark phrase Eric and I always snickered at, "FREEEEENCH TOAST AND SYRUUUUUUUUP!"  
I sighed, nearly melting. "He's not so tough is he?" I felt like collapsing on the seats. Ugh, Psymon was one tough cookie.  
Moby chuckled, "Don't let 'em get to yeh, mate. He's all talk,"  
"Actually, Mobes, you know for a fact that Psymon is not just a talker," Zoe said thoughtfully, "Remember in Aloha Ice Jam? Kaori kicked in that track!"  
Mac nodded, "Yeah, but Psymon had threatened to get her back, and he sure did,"  
Kaori grimaced, "My hair was blue for weeks."  
I giggled, "So THAT'S why your hair was blue in Alaska!"  
Griff laughed too, "Yeah, my friends and I were wondering about that!!"  
Kaori blushed, "Yes...I know..."  
Mac wrapped his arm around Kaori and smiled, "But, it's brown now!"  
"I don't know..." Kaori frowned, "Just last week I saw a small dot of blue in my hair!"  
  
Griff and I cracked up laughing, unable to contain our tears. Zoe giggled, "Wooo, Kaori, you were pretty brave that time you stood up to Psymon at Garibaldi,"  
"I remember!" Kaori smiled, "Psymon was bothering me all day during the warm-ups! So while we were racing, I pushed him!" Kaori thrust her arms forward, giggled.  
Elise sighed as she pulled her hair into a ponytail, "Yeah, people never change, do they?"  
"Yep, Psymon was really prepared to kill you after that," Zoe added.  
Just then, the plane shook violently.  
"We landed in Peak One. Please exit, and be sure to call us on your M- comm if you need anything," Atomika declared. "Go on, get!"  
We pushed out of the plane one by one, Griff looking more nervous then ever.  
"Get ready, Griff, this is your chance to show Mac that you're more than better!" I said excitedly.  
Griff laughed nervously, "Yeah, yeah, right..."  
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Viggo smiling.  
I pushed off next, Griff and Viggo behind me. Turns out none of the riders had started racing. Mac grabbed my arm when I was about to pass them. "Hold up, kid. We want to see what you newbies are made of!"  
I groaned. Me? Race Zoe, Mac, Kaori, and Moby? I couldn't WAIT to write home and tell Eric, Ryan, and Roy what was going on!  
"What? You nervous? You're just racing the best boarders ever!" Zoe said happily.  
"Right...no nervousness here..."  
Griff laughed at my sarcasm, "Gotta love that boarding spirit she's got!"  
Allegra was standing next to Zoe, calm and collected. She threw me a glare and narrowed her eyes. I hate to admit it, but I was scared of her. Viggo remained quiet and composed, but Griff and Mac were prepared to cut each other's throats.  
"Think you're hot stuff, eh?" Mac snorted, "Well, we'll see about that. It's the SSX Vets against the newbies!"  
Kaori shook her head disapprovingly and glided towards me, "He's normally not like this..."  
"I understand. I'm sure he's just letting Griff get to him, hm?"  
Kaori nodded, "Yes. Mac is always up for a challenge."  
We all lined up, a little unorganized, but prepared for a race nonetheless.  
I was nervous again. My heart was beating heavily, and even though it must've been record breaking temperatures, little sweat drops were forming above my brow.  
I had had a crush on Mac since the first SSX league, and now, I was racing him and his girlfriend! Along with the other vets! 


	5. Newbies VS the Veterans

Chapter V  
  
AN: Yes! I have finally decided who I will hook Yuri with! You will see!!! ^_^ This chapter isn't as good as the last one, to tell you the truth. I lost my focus through half of the chapter and just wanted it to end. Oh well... What can I say? I'm lazy. Okay Day! I will write one more chapter for my other story "Final Race" and that'll be the end. But I'm sad because "Final Race" gets no more reviews!! Awww! I'll make a second part for it later. But right now, I want to focus on this one. Keep the reviews coming! Pleasy wheezy lemon-squeezy! (Yeah, that's right. I said pleasy wheezy lemon- squeezy. So?) You guys are soooo cool!!!  
  
Peak One. And to think the massive peak that was nothing compared to Psymon's territory. I was shaking....  
Griff wasn't faring so well either.  
Mac had threw him some poisonous shots while we all leaned forward, expecting to shoot out anytime.  
Kaori said the countdown.  
"Three!"  
I wiped the sweat from my brow.  
"Two!"  
My knees were shaking...  
"One!"  
My heart was pounding...  
"Go!"  
I lunged forward, eager to keep up with Mac. However, Allegra flew past me, along with Griff, Moby, Zoe and Elise. Viggo and I were soon fighting for the second worst position. I gritted my teeth. I can't believe I let them fly past me like that! They must think I'm some kind of idiot!  
  
I'll show them!  
I placed my hands behind my back and leaned forward, trying to blend with the wind conditions. Sure enough my speed slowly accelerated, and soon Viggo was far behind. I still hadn't caught up with Moby though. He was ahead of me. I could see him as well as Zoe. Elise and Allegra must've been far ahead along with Griff and Mac and Kaori. For a split second, my thoughts traveled to Griff and his progress, but I had to snap out of my daze. I plowed over a few branches, keeping my composure and balancing my stance. I still had to kick it up. If I kept going on like this, I would never pass Moby. How awesome...I could pass Moby Jones!  
I giggled to myself as I imagined Moby glaring at me during some kind of trophy award thing. I heard them call my name. My brothers and cousins were cheering in the crowd; all of the SSX Veterans were shaking my hand and smiling.  
Suddenly, I hit a tree.  
I recovered quickly, but Viggo whizzed past me. Dammit! I let my guard down! I should've paid more attention!!  
Viggo laughed as he swept past me, "Nice one, newbie!"  
I grumbled, not exactly happy that he had called me newbie when he himself was one.  
A twelve year old is beating me!!?  
Out of the blue, I realized the horror of it all. Griff, the twelve year old hyper active kid on drugs that everyone loathed, was beating me! No! This couldn't happen!  
There had to be some kind of-  
There! Out of the corner of my eye I could see a ramp leading off to the left. Okay, I'll take my chances again. Besides, last time I took a shortcut, I ended up getting second! Not bad, eh? I figured the ramp was my best move. I couldn't catch up with anyone on this track unless I had super powers like the Flash or something.  
I jumped off the ramp, executing the Lounge-about Spinster, my favorite. My cousins and I would always put together tricks and come up with new super tricks. The Lounge-about Spinster was my own concoction.  
Eric had laughed at me when I explained what I had to do to actually perform the trick.  
"Yuri, you couldn't do that trick if your life depended on it!" Ryan declared, raising an eyebrow.  
To tell you the truth, he was right. I was never really the tricky type person. I always preferred speed over tricks. However, I kept my speed and tricks balanced. I despised alpine boards. They were too big and heavy on my feet. I need something light and movable.  
"Oh yeah? I'll show you!"  
"Then go ahead and perform the trick, right up there!" Eric pointed up at the advanced ramp for experienced boarders.  
"What?" I said confidently, "You think I can't do it? Just because I'm a girl?"  
Roy shook his head, "Not because you're a girl, because you can't do it period."  
I glared at him, throwing my board over my back. "Just watch," I muttered as I stalked towards the lift.  
"Aw, shit," I had heard Ryan say behind my back, "If she dies, then mom's gonna kill me,"  
"I heard that!" I shouted over my shoulder.  
To make a long story short, I ended up performing the trick perfectly. But barely. Eric said he swore I was gonna mess up. I was inches from the ground when I finally got my board on the right side. Ever since then, Eric thought twice about racing me. Back to my race against Griff, Allegra, Viggo, and the SSX veterans...  
The ramp turned out to be hell.  
The trees thickened, along with my doubt. Maybe this wasn't really a shortcut after all...  
All I could think about now was being lost. I couldn't be lost. No way. This ramp had to lead somewhere.... The snow had become powdery, and my board couldn't handle it. It was too steep! I had to get outta there!  
I swerved to the right, realizing that I had been boarding on a highly elevated terrain. I looked down over the cliff and saw Elise. She was alone, but she looked like she had been in the fight of the millennia. Her left cheek was swollen and her eye had dark marks around it. Allegra. It had to be. Zoe was known for her aggressive boarding and all, but Zoe wouldn't go as far as give someone a black eye. As for Griff, I knew for a fact the kid couldn't hurt a fly if he wanted to. So, it HAD to be Allegra.  
Elise could handle her.  
My brother always told me Elise was one tough cookie. I only thought he said that because he thought she was hot. Wrong. I thought back to the Merqury City circuit and remembered the fight Elise and Marisol had gotten into. It started when Elise had hit Marisol head on from behind. Marisol jumped off her board and nearly pounded the Canadian woman, but Elise wasn't about to get bashed by her arch enemy. Elise had swung at Marisol with her own board! The two girls were immediately escorted out of the racing grounds, disqualified.  
As I watched Elise coasting down the side of the mountain then, I realized that I didn't want to get on her bad side. You gotta be stupid to mess with Elise Riggs.  
I chose not to jump off and meet her; I kept my distance from her and remained quiet. I wasn't gonna let them see me comin'!  
I couldn't see anyone ahead of Elise, but I was sure Mac and Griff were fighting it out up there. I had no idea...but I could bet my life on it that Mac was winning by a long shot. Later on, I would find out that I was right.  
I was nearing an ice wall! I had to jump down there and confront Elise, or else I'd be a mere bug on the window! I looked down at the drop before me and sighed.  
(This is gonna suuuuuuck...)  
The word "pain" kept scrolling in and out of my brain. However, I managed to pull off some fancy moves, but I wasn't as graceful as I wished I had been. I collided into the snow and Elise shrieked.  
"Oh shit, Yuri! Where'd you come from!?"  
My face must've been pale when I pointed up at the elevated ground I was on. I was higher then I thought....  
Elise relaxed a little and smirked, "Well then, the newbie's got talent. Let's see her use it." Elise pushed forward, taunting me. I knew she was only toying with me. I couldn't beat her. I studied Elise's moves on the television all the time in all the circuits she had been on. She would always take home at the least a silver medal in all of the racing events she was in. However, you'd be more likely to see a vampire take daily noon walks on the beach than Elise take home gold in tricking.  
I couldn't help but giggle. Elise looked back at me; I was close enough to see her arch her eyebrow. My cheeks heated, and I murmured a "sorry" even though I was positive she didn't hear me. There must've been some other way...  
I struggled to keep up with her, seeing as I didn't have any other options. I wasn't all that aggressive. I kept my distance but tried to gradually pass her occasionally. She wouldn't allow it, though.  
Elise Riggs was truly THE Ice Queen.  
"Road hog!" I teased.  
Elise smiled, "That's what they call me, baby! You should see me behind the wheel of my Hummer!"  
I could ONLY imagine...  
"Where's Zoe?" I shouted over to Elise.  
"Back there with Allegra! That little bitch blew me off!" Elise yelled over her shoulder. She motioned to her face, still keeping her attention on the race.  
"And Kaori?"  
"She ahead with Mac!" Elise shouted, "Moby's ahead of us, too! But little Griff is back there with Viggo. Seems the little guy was all talk!"  
We both laughed, "I figured!"  
Soon enough, the finish line came into view and we could see Mac and Moby getting up in each other faces. Kaori pleaded for Mac to stop.  
Elise coasted to a stop. She reached the finish line before me, however. I was disappointed, but glad that I was the first newbie to cross the line. Kaori saw me and beamed, "Oh, Yuri! You're here!"  
I smiled, "Hey!"  
Mac nodded at me and Moby waved. "How was the race?"  
"Okay, I guess. I got messed up at the beginning."  
Elise shrugged, "Hey, don't we all occasionally?"  
Koari nodded.  
"So, who came in what place?"  
"Mac came first," Kaori said.  
"Naturally," Mac said proudly.  
"Followed closely by yours truly," Moby grinned.  
Kaori offered a weak smiled, "And that leaves me!"  
"Who was behind?" Mac asked, looking at me.  
He was talking to me...  
"Um, Allegra and Zoe with and Viggo and Griff trailing behind."  
Elise nodded, "Yeah, that's what it was like when I got outta that mess. That Allegra girl got pretty nasty out there,"  
"So I see," Mac muttered, "That girl is gonna be trouble. She's too eager to knock everyone out."  
"She was too quiet on the plane," Moby suggested, "I don't like quiet people."  
"Yeah, you notice that Viggo guy?" Elise asked.  
"He's pretty quiet."  
"No he's not," I said quickly, "I talked to him in the breakfast nook this morning. He was a pretty cool guy,"  
Mac shrugged, "Hey, I dunno, maybe he is, maybe he isn't."  
All I could do was swim in the fact that I just lost to Elise, Moby, Mac, and Kaori. I couldn't help but look at the bright side, though. Even though I came in fifth place, I was still on cloud nine because I beat Allegra and Zoe. I beat a veteran! Yay! I even beat most of the newbies! But, I wanted to race Nate and Psymon. I wanted a showdown with them, just to prove that I can handle them all.  
But still...I wasn't quite sure I was ready to beat Psymon...  
Or Nate for that matter. He was WAY too quick on Peak Two.  
We were quiet for the next two minutes. Mainly the only people talking were Mac and Kaori, discussing Nate and Psymon. Suddenly, Mac's head jerked towards the mountain.  
"Hey, look, here comes 'Short Stuff'," Mac laughed loudly. Griff came down the mountainside, completely humiliated. Poor guy, I could feel for him, but he was all talk at the lodge, and he kinda deserved what he got. Though I was kinda surprised that he had passed Allegra and Zoe in the long shot. I thought he was far behind, but I must've been wrong!  
"What was that, man?" Mac asked, "That was nothing. Old man Moby put up a better show then you!"  
Moby grunted, taking offense to "old man", but he must've known Mac was just joking, because he didn't do anything.  
Griff ignored Mac and threw his board down violently and plopped down, staring at the snow. He was doing what any twelve-year-old would do.  
Griff was pouting.  
"Poor, poor, Griffy Wiffy," Elise sympathized. "He didn't beat Mackie Wacky,"  
"Mackie Wacky" glared at Elise, daring her to say another word. Elise laughed and looked back at the slopes. Viggo glided down the mountain after Griff, still relaxed.  
"Look!" Kaori pointed far out in the distance, "its Allegra!"  
Elise rolled up her sleeves, "When I get my hands on that girl I swear I'll-"  
"Shut up!" Moby hissed.  
Allegra coasted in, tightening her gloves. She didn't meet anyone's gaze, she merely plopped herself down on the snow and began cleaning up her board.  
"Hello!" Kaori offered, with a bright smile. Allegra nodded at Kaori, but remained silent. Kaori looked at Mac. Mac shrugged and looked back at the peak.  
"There's Zo," he said.  
I laughed. Zoe always had something to say. She glided past the finish line murmuring, "Owee, Owee, Owee, Owee, Owee, Owee, Owee,"  
"What's up?" I asked her, glancing at her arm. Kaori gasped. Her arm had one long gash on it, that ran for her forearm up to her shoulder.  
Zoe offered a smile, "Not much, I took a fall. I've had worse,"  
"That's whatcha get for wearing that clothing," Moby teased playfully. I had to admit, Moby was right. I don't know how she survived with fish net arm covering and an extremely tight black shirt.  
Kaori sighed, "You always were the tough girl,"  
Zoe puffed out her chest, "You betcha!"  
  
Elise laughed, "Tough girl? I'm more than that, AND a bag o' chips!" Kaori, Zoe, and Elise busted out laughing. There obviously was a strong bond between the three girls. They had been through a lot.  
I fell back into the snow after unlatching my boots from my board. I spread my arms and legs, back and forth, back and forth.  
"Whatcha doin'?" Kaori asked, plopping down beside me and mimicking me.  
"Snow angel," I said simply. I got up, pointed down at my creation (a slightly lopsided snow angel that looked a bit too fat).  
Kaori got up and looked at her own, which looked the same. We both exchanged smiles and giggled.  
"Where you learn to make snow angel?"  
"My brother Ryan taught me when I was little. He loves snow more then me." I said, remembering the time Ryan, Eric and I had had our major snowball tournament. Eric was an idiot. Ryan was an idiot. I was an idiot. It fit.  
"Does he board?"  
I nodded, "He loves boarding. ALMOST as much as I do," I added, thinking back to Eric. I wondered what he was doing right now. Probably ripping it up on a mountain with Ryan. I missed those two dummies. Ryan was my older brother, he was seventeen, and Eric was my younger cousin. Eric was only thirteen.  
Kaori looked back at Mac and frowned disapprovingly. "Mac! Stop arguing!"  
Mac and Elise were at it again, Elise glaring daggers at Mac.  
"Don't you dare talk to me like that!" Elise hiss, "I was only joking!"  
"You lookin' for a smackdown?" Mac muttered darkly, "Cause if you are, I'll give it to you,"  
"Whoa, mate," Moby stepped between them, "You don't hit a lady,"  
"A LADY!?" Mac roared, "YOU CALL THAT THING A LADY!?! THAT'S FRIGGIN' GODZILLA OVER THERE!"  
Griff erupted in laughter, and Viggo could help but hold back a chuckle. Elise scowled at them, shutting them up immediately.  
Elise lunged for him, but Zoe held her back, "Whoa, Elise, hold on there!"  
"I'm gonna kill you, you little trash talkin' punk!!!" she shrieked, struggling out of Zoe's arms.  
Griff appeared to be amused.  
Kaori frowned at Mac and Elise and leaned towards me, "Elise and Mac are always at it. They never got along during the 'Tricky' tour." She whispered.  
"Really? I always thought it was neutral,"  
"There are some things that we don't let the media know, you must realize." Kaori smiled, "We do have our privacy, you know,"  
I nodded, thinking back to the lodge when Kaori and Mac were cuddling together in the chair.  
I shivered. I didn't like that picture. I like Kaori, she was probably one of my closest friends so far, but the thing was, I still had a crush on Mac! 


	6. Hot Chocolate and a Challenge

Chapter VI  
  
AN: You'll see who Yuri hooks with! Sorry, but I'm not gonna spoil it! It's not Mac though... ANYWAY! I just thought it would be fun to add her little "crush" into it! Just to add in some human feelings! C'mon, who DOESN'T have a crush on Mac?? ^_^ Does anyone know how old Nate actually is? I'm kinda curious! I love you reviewers! You are sooooo cool! Yay!  
  
After the race, it was freestyle in Peak One. Atomika had beeped Mac and wanted to know how the race turned out. Atomika sent us individual messages, stating that that day was merely a practice run, to learn the slopes and uncover what we can. Anything we did wouldn't count for the league points. That didn't stop us, though. Kaori had asked me earlier if I wanted to join her for a practice run downhill on one of the easier courses. I accepted, wanting to know if I could actually beat the "Tricky" Nishidake.  
"Alpine or freestyle?" Kaori asked as we warmed-up.  
"I hate alpine boards! They actually make me feel like I'm going slower!" I said, "I prefer BX, actually,"  
  
"Oh really?" Kaori smiled, "I'm more keen on the tricks. I do not go for speed,"  
"Tricks aren't my strong point," I admitted, "I can go just as fast with a BX board then an alpine board,"  
Kaori nodded, "Alpine boards are too big and heavy. It makes me not perform well,"  
We took our places. This was it. Just me and Kaori! "We are performing tricks, not racing!" Kaori said.  
Uh oh.... Tricks were never really my strong spot...  
"Three!" Kaori shouted, strapping on her pink tinted goggles.  
Oh no...  
"Two!"  
  
Oh noooo...  
"One!"  
  
OH NO!!!  
"Go!"  
I pushed myself out of the gates slowly, not wanting Kaori to think I was TOO competitive. I bent my knees, preparing for the first jump. This was gonna was tough...  
I jumped, performing a 1080 forward flip stiffy. Not bad, but I could do better. I hit the snow roughly, but managed to keep my stance. Kaori was ahead of me, tricking out on the level ground! She executed a left side 360 with no effort! I knew already that I was gonna lose right there. Kaori looked back at me, smiled, and waved.  
Damn her innocent ways!!  
There was a steep wooden ramp up ahead. Kaori tried to swerve into it, but missed. I heard her curse slightly-which surprised me-as she missed her opportunity.  
I nailed the ramp, and thought I could finally get my Lounge-about Spinster right.  
Wrong.  
Just I was performing the body board spin, I hit the snow. My body was on fire!!!  
  
I knew I didn't break anything, and I knew I didn't fracture anything, so I figured I was okay.  
I got up slowly, dusting the snow off my jacket. Instead, I jogged back for me board, and realized the worst. My board had a nice long crack on the side. It hadn't split (thank God!) and it was probably okay to board with still, but the board wasn't the same. I latched my boots on the board again and took off, watching Kaori perform the Pirouette Grind from behind. That had to be one of my favorites! Maybe, just maybe, Kaori would teach it to me one day. However, at the time, I had more important things to worry about.  
It was impossible! I could not beat Kaori! She was far ahead of me, though I knew it didn't matter. It was all about tricks, not speed. Tricks, not speed. All I had to do was keep that in mind and I'd be good to go...  
The next ramp was approaching fast, and I had little time to think what I was going to do. I jumped into the air and performed the trick Eric and I had been trying to do for years.  
The Unethical Experimental.  
I hit the ground hard, but I was okay. I actually performed the Unethical Experimental! One of my favorite moves from last year's tour! However, when I looked up and saw Kaori do the Nac-Nac, I knew that it was over already. The finish line was in view, and I had only nailed two moves.  
  
Dammit!  
Kaori swerved around and smiled. "So? How'd it go?"  
I frowned, "Not good. I only got one or two moves down,"  
Kaori laughed a little, "Don't worry, you will improve in time."  
"Thanks," I offered a weak smile, and Kaori and I left the course, eager to find some other challenge to go for.  
  
It was nearly 11 o'clock when the boarders were all finally in the lodge. Psymon had been the last one in, trudging through the carpet with his snow filled boots. He was mumbling slightly, and he looked exhausted. Instead of sitting down at the couch and warming up at the fireplace with the rest of us, Psymon threw his board in the corner with everyone else's and made way for his room.  
"Rough day?" Zoe shouted over her shoulder towards the rooms.  
Psymon didn't respond.  
Zoe exchanged glances with Moby and shrugged.  
"So? How was everyone's first day, eh?" Atomika said brightly, clasping his hands together.  
"Man, you shoulda seen me! I was a blur on the track!!!"  
  
Three guesses who was talking...  
"Right, Griff, I'm sure you were," Mac said sarcastically. I knew off the bat Mac and Griff hated each other with a passion, and that was putting it mildly. Kaori shook her head disapprovingly.  
Allegra scoffed, "Griff you shouldn't talk when you suck,"  
Atomika cleared his throat, "Now, before we get into another argument, I have another announcement."  
Griff was scrambling for Allegra, wanting to clamp his hands around her neck, I could see in his eyes.  
Nate held him back, "Griff, man, it's not worth it,"  
Griff nodded gruffly and sat down, folding his arms and continuing to pout.  
Atomika shook his head and sighed, "I received this message from the officials this morning," he said, "they want to know whether or not we've picked a new poster boarder,"  
"What?" Elise jumped up, "I thought-"  
"You thought wrong, Elise," Atomika said, "Now please sit down. You know for a fact that being a poster boarder doesn't last long,"  
"Yeah, we know," Moby said fiercely.  
"Don't worry about it, Elise. Everyone knows you were one of the best," Zoe said.  
Elise nodded, "You know it..."  
Atomika continued, "Now if anyone wants to volunteer who WASN'T A POSTER BOARDER EVER-" Elise had raised her hand immediately, "-then you're welcome to sign up in my office."  
Allegra snorted, "I'm in,"  
Griff laughed, "YOU? Allegra, you're not as cute as this little thang right here! You know they'd pick me over you! I'm cute AND I'm the youngest!"  
"I dunno about the cute part, kid. We all kinda find you annoying," Zoe mumbled.  
"Besides," Moby teased, "We want to ATTRACT an audience, not scare them away,"  
Griff glowered, looking very upset.  
Kaori and I exchanged glances and confined our giggles.  
"Does anyone want to volunteer now?" Atomika said. I shook my head immediately. "Griff, you ARE welcome to volunteer, you know. You don't HAVE to listen to Moby,"  
Griff folded his arms and glared at Moby.  
Atomika sighed and shook his head. "Alright, Allegra. Let's talk later in my office tomorrow morning, okay? I'll see if you're what the officials are looking for,"  
"Blegh! Who in the hell would want THAT as a poster girl?"  
Allegra narrowed her eyes. "Bring it on, Elise,"  
"This girl is asking for it!" Elise stood up, daring Allegra to move.  
  
I had to admit, things were getting tense in the league. Between Griff and Mac, and Allegra and Elise, I couldn't tell which rivalry was more heated. I had to admit, I didn't like Allegra either. I was kind of thankful too that Psymon had chosen not to attend the meeting. Now THAT would've been a disaster waiting to happen.  
"Why don't we just stop this now before it gets out of hand?" Atomika muttered. "I'm tired of these rivalries! Why can't you just bash each others heads in on the slopes when the camera is rolling and just leave it be neutral when you come here?"  
Despite everyone's shock at what Atomika had just said, Moby, Griff, and Mac couldn't stop laughing at Elise's expression.  
Moby was trying (and failing miserably) to keep a straight face while Griff nearly choked on his own laughter. Mac sputtered on his steaming cup of hot chocolate, covering his mouth with his hands as he chortled.  
This caused Kaori to giggle uncontrollably, and I couldn't help but snicker at Mac's predicament. The poor guy had steaming hot chocolate pouring from his nose! Zoe joined the laughter soon enough, and then came Nate. Viggo was smirking, containing his amusement fairly well.  
The only people restraining their laughter seemed to be Allegra, Elise, and Atomika.  
Elise was glowering, while Allegra retaliated with the finger.  
"Allegra!" Atomika roared, "There is absolutely NO need for such a gesture!"  
Allegra scoffed as she turned on her heel and made her way to her lodge room.  
Tears pouring from Mac's eyes, he stood up and bent over, leaning over his knees.  
Griff looked like some fictional character was tickling him to death. He was rolling about the couch (much to Elise's annoyance) laughing just as hard as ever.  
Zoe nearly toppled off the lounge chair she was sitting in, clutching her stomach and pointing at Mac's nose. Moby managed to control himself, but as soon as he caught a glimpse of Mac's face again, he fell off the couch and pounded the floor, his voice becoming raspy. "Oh, bloody hell! Would yah look at the little bugger now!"  
Nate was laughing as well, massaging his forehead once again like he did with Griff the first day I met him.  
Kaori and I were leaning against each other for support. Both of us weren't able to carry our own selves. Mac was laughing so hard and yet murmuring, "Hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot, hot,"  
Mac finally gave up and screamed, "IT BURNS!" and collapsed on the floor. Moby wheezed, choking back his laughter as the tears poured out of his eyes.  
Atomika chuckled slightly, but that was the best we had got out of him that night. He was obviously still furious with Elise and Allegra.  
I couldn't believe Atomika found Mac choking on hot chocolate not funny! The guy had chocolate running from his nose for crying out loud!  
Elise gave up and stalked to her room, ignoring Mac as much as possible.  
"You-shoulda-seen-her-face!" Mac managed to say in between his laughs.  
Griff was still rolling on the couch like a dog. "Yeah! She looked like this!" He scrunched his face up and burrowed his eyebrows, and it WAS a funny sight to tell you the truth.  
Suddenly, Nate froze.  
"Wait!!!" Nate shouted, "Did Mac and Griff just AGREE ON SOMETHING?"  
Griff stopped laughing in horror. Mac did the same, wiping his chocolate nose with the back of his hand.  
"I didn't find it funny.... Now that I think about it, it wasn't THAT funny," Mac muttered, glaring at Griff.  
I sighed, leaning to Kaori, "Those two must really hate each other!!"  
"Yes, they make Allegra and Elise look like good friends!"  
Atomika heaved another heavy sigh and looked at each and every one of us. "Well, I suppose that settles it. Allegra will be our new poster girl since no one else is volunteering."  
"What about Griff?" Moby asked innocently.  
  
"I AM NOT VOLUNTEERING ANYMORE!" Griff shouted at Moby.  
Moby shrugged, "Well, if that's all you wanted to talk about, I suppose I should be going to bed, eh?"  
Atomika nodded. "By the way, tomorrow morning there will be a list on the coffee table. The list will consist of the racers that are due to race at the Happiness course tomorrow at 9 o'clock. Understood?"  
We all nodded solemnly and grabbed our gear and shuffled to our rooms. "Congratulations, Allegra!" Griff shouted at her door when we passed it, "You're the new poster girl!"  
Allegra must've been very upset. She didn't open the door to yell at Griff or anything! Griff and I both raised our eyebrows.  
"What's wrong with her?" Griff whispered. I shrugged as Nate came up behind Griff.  
"Hey, you two. You guys gotta get some sleep. Especially you, Yuri,"  
"Why?"  
"Because," Nate smiled brightly, handing me a piece of paper that had a hasty message scrawled on it.  
(...)  
"Whoa! Yuri, you're eyes just got as big as headlights, man!!" Griff said loudly, "What's up?"  
"The worst day of my life will be tomorrow." I mumbled sadly. "Nate, where did you find this?"  
"Taped to your door," 


	7. Peak Three

Chapter VII  
  
AN: To Starlight: I really think you'll like this chapter. I've decided to take your advice, but it'll come slowly. Very slowly... You'll know what I'm talking about by the end of the chapter! ^_^  
  
"Honto ni!?" Kaori exclaimed.  
  
I nodded solemnly.  
  
"So, it's this morning?"  
  
"Yes. Will you watch? Onegai?"  
  
Kaori shook her head sadly, "No, no. Gomen nasai,"  
  
Kaori and I spoke bits and pieces of Japanese and English when it was just us two. That morning, as I talked with Kaori and stared at my half eaten Cheerios, I wasn't feeling so wonderful. I took a sip of my coffee and frowned.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Happiness!" Kaori exclaimed brightly.  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"Happiness!" Kaori repeated, "I am racing on the Happiness course with the others today!"  
  
"Oh," I mumbled.  
  
"I'm sorry," Kaori said again, "I really am, but I cannot miss this race! Moby, Viggo, Elise, Zoe, and Griff are going to race against me!"  
  
"What about Nate and Allegra?"  
  
Kaori shrugged, "They are not racing this morning, I suppose."  
  
"Maybe Nate will watch me. Just in case Psymon decides to kill me early..."  
  
Kaori giggled, "Look, Yuri, it will be okay, I promise! Psymon may be an aggressive racer, but he won't knock you unless you knock him,"  
  
"What happened?" Griff entered the kitchen, rubbing his head. "Oh! You're really accepting Psymon's challenge to race him? You're not racing on Happiness, are you? Cause the other boarders will be racing there!"  
  
"No. We're racing at a small course on Peak Three that isn't in the required runs to win. No one knows about it. It's just a little quick dash around Peak Three. It'll only take ten minutes or so..."  
  
"Hahahahahahahahaha! You have to race PSYMON!" Griff clutched his stomach and toppled over in laughter, then scrambling to his feet.  
  
"Griff, shut up or I'll tell your little secret."  
  
Griff froze and looked at me in horror. "You wouldn't!!"  
  
"Think again," I mumbled. I was too forlorn to deal with Griff today. He had annoyed me all night last night, attempting to start another pillow fight. I refused, and that caused him to hit me in the back of the head with a not-so-soft pillow. I retaliated, threatening to tell his little secret. His little "crush" on Elise. He told me after the meeting Atomika had given last night, thinking he could actually trust me. However, every opportunity I got, I threatened to tell. As long as he didn't annoy me, I was cool with him. Griff and I got along okay, we kinda bonded as friends, but then again, he was also the most irritating person on the planet.  
  
"But...that's mean!"  
  
"Yeah I know."  
  
"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. Happy?" Griff grumbled. He poured himself a glass of milk, and scampered off to the lobby. Apparently, Moby and Griff tended to have early morning chess lessons.  
  
"Yes. Very satisfied." I said, turning my attention back to Kaori. "I'm going to die today. I'm sure they won't find my body...so when you find it, all frozen and stiff, could you tell my brother and my cousins that I love them? And my mom. Could you tell her?"  
  
"Look, Panda Bear," (Panda Bear. It was Kaori's nick name for me) "it is okay. Psymon won't hit you. He knows you are younger and more delicate than some of the other boarders,"  
  
"You can't control Psymon..."  
  
"THAT'S RIGHT!"  
  
I screamed in terror as two hands grabbed my shoulders roughly. I pushed them off and swirled around and found a very amused Psymon Stark sneering at me.  
  
"DON'T DO THAT!!!" I shouted at him.  
  
"Hmm.... You're eating Cheerios. Hahahahahah!"  
  
My cheeks grew hot again as I clenched my fists. I resisted the urge to hit him. I wasn't so scared of him at the moment.  
  
"Aw! I got the mini-Kaori mad!!" Psymon exclaimed in his best "baby" voice possible.  
  
Kaori pinched her nose, "Psymon! You stink! You have not had your bath yet!"  
  
Psymon ignored Kaori, "I'll see you later, mini-Kaori..." he said menacingly.  
  
I sighed and closed my eyes, collapsing on the breakfast stool as soon as he left.  
  
"I. Hate. Him."  
  
Kaori nodded solemnly, "I am sorry. Psymon is a little out of it."  
  
"Yeah, I noticed that from day one. Jeez, I thought the whole reputation he had on the television was nothing but rep,"  
  
Kaori giggled, "Oh, well now you know, eh?"  
  
I closed my eyes and sighed again. "Yes. Now I know."  
  
***  
  
I put my goggles on and heaved a sigh. I don't know what was worse. Racing Psymon Stark of sharing that back of the helicopter with him.  
  
Probably the helicopter. At least during the race I'd be far, far behind him.  
  
Psymon was pushing me towards the helicopter, muttering "C'mon, c'mon, we ain't got all day, Cheerios!"  
  
Cheerios. I preferred being called Panda Bear. Everyone seemed to have their own special nick name to me.  
  
To Psymon, I was Cheerios.  
  
To Kaori, I was Panda Bear or PB for short.  
  
To Nate, I was Speedy.  
  
To Moby, I was Booger. That one I wasn't particularly found of. I actually would rather be called Cheerios.  
  
And Griff had dubbed me "Her Royal Pain in the Buttness" or "Loser" for short.  
  
"Wait! I almost forgot my headphones!!" I screamed and turned back. I swung open the lodge doors and scampered to my room. Just as I turned the corner, I ran straight into Nate. All of the racers had left for Happiness already, and I just assumed Nate and Allegra had just gone out to practice.  
  
"Whoa, Speedy, where're you going?" he was scratching his head and still had his pajamas on.  
  
"Not an early riser, huh?" I said as I pushed him out of the way gently, "Psymon is going to race me on Peak Three."  
  
"WHAT?" Nate shouted, "YOU? PSYMON? RACE? PEAK THREE?"  
  
I nodded sadly, a little startled by Nate's shouting. "I have to ride in the helicopter with Psymon too. I think that's the worst part..."  
  
"Wait! I'll come with you! God knows what that man'll do to you!" Nate swirled around and ran back to his own room and disappeared. His head poked out of his door once more with a lopsided cowboy hat on, "Hold on, Yuri! I'm comin',"  
  
I sighed and shook my head. I swung into my room and picked up my headphones. I put them over my auburn hair (which was tied into two low buns) and dashed out of the lodge yelling "I have to go, Nate, sorry!" over my shoulder.  
  
Psymon was waiting at the helicopter, scowling. "Took yah long enough," he muttered, swiping my headphones off of me.  
  
"Hey! Those are mine!"  
  
Psymon examined them and handed them back, soon enough. I placed them back on my head and pulled myself into the helicopter before Psymon.  
  
Psymon clambered in after me.  
  
He gave the pilot a thumbs up and we took off. As we lifted, I saw Nate run out of the lodge, pulling a boot on and staring after the helicopter with concerned eyes. "Yuri! I'm coming as soon as that helicopter gets back!"  
  
Well, that's what he said (as he told me later), but I couldn't hear him. I pressed my gloved hands against the window as well as my nose. I peered down at him and waved sadly as he watched me go.  
  
I really like Nate.  
  
Really.  
  
***  
  
"Mini-Kaori, Mini-Kaori, Mini-Kaori, Mini-Kaori, Mini-Kaori, Mini-Kaori, Mini-Kaori, Mini-Kaori, Mini-Kaori, Mini-Kaori, Mini-Kaori, Mini-Kaori, Mini-Kaori, Mini-Kaori, Mini-Kaori,"  
  
"STOP IT!"  
  
Psymon only grinned impishly. "I'm gonna race the newbie, I'm gonna race the newbie, I'm gonna race the newbie, I'm gonna race the newbie,"  
  
"JUST STOP!!"  
  
"Aw, sorry Cheerios! Bad me!"  
  
I sighed, burying my face into my hands. I wish Nate was there. I thought back to him, his expression of concern when I took off....  
  
"Whatcha thinkin' 'bout?" Psymon asked happily.  
  
"Go away."  
  
"Well..." Psymon raised an eyebrow and tilted his head to the side, "I can't really do that unless I jumped out of the helicopter. But that's beginning to sound like fun..."  
  
I groaned, inching away from him as far as possible. Unfortunately, Psymon and I were stuck with the helicopter. Everyone that was racing down at Happiness had used the big roomy plane. We got stuck with a helicopter. Damn.  
  
The snow was pounding on the helicopter furiously. I shuddered; I was a little worried about the snow conditions. I remembered what Atomika said about "potentially dangerous avalanches" and "possible life-death situations".  
  
Psymon must've seen me shudder, "What? You scared of a little snow?"  
  
I glared at him, "No."  
  
"There ARE avalanches, if you're wondering," Psymon grinned happily, "But you gotta be quick enough to escape them."  
  
"What?"  
  
"A-va-lan-ches," Psymon said slowly, "You know? Snow pounding down on you, burying you alive, trapped for days, no food, no water, no air."  
  
I shuddered again. "You know, maybe this isn't such a good idea..."  
  
"What're you talking about!? This is the coolest peak out here!"  
  
I shook my head, "It's too dangerous. And besides, Atomika said no one is allowed on Peak Three but you,"  
  
"Yeah, but I challenged you. So that makes a difference!" Psymon said triumphantly.  
  
Suddenly, the helicopter swerved.  
  
I screamed and clung to Psymon, not even thinking.  
  
"What's wrong? Scared again?"  
  
I looked up at him, realizing I was still holding him.  
  
I immediately let go and scooted away from him, shooting some poisonous glances at him.  
  
Psymon only laughed and pointed out the window. "See? We're almost there already. It wasn't a bad trip, now, was it?"  
  
"Speak for yourself...." I murmured. The snow was still pounding on the helicopter, and I couldn't even see out through the window. Psymon really was insane. "You know, you're the only boarder that wears a straight jacket,"  
  
Psymon nodded, grinning, "Yeah, I know. Isn't it fun? Not being able to use your arms even though it's potentially life-threatening?"  
  
I sighed, "Never mind..."  
  
"You remind me of Kaori, but you act more mature than Kaori. Well, she's not that bad, she's much better than last year." Psymon sighed and shook his head, "You shoulda seen that kid, she as always bouncing around the hotel lobby shouting Japanese shit. But I guess that was 'normal' to her. Now that she's learned English and calmed her friggin' ass out, I guess she's okay now. You're just like her, you know. Just a little more spunk,"  
  
"Spunk?" I mumbled, "Spunk? Is that bad?"  
  
"You also worry too much. You worry about what everyone else will think about you. Just relax. Be like me!"  
  
"Oh, yeah, Psymon. Cause you know, you were always my mentor since I have no father,"  
  
"I KNEW IT!" Psymon cackled maniacally. "Wait, don't you have a father?"  
  
"No." I muttered, "He died in an avalanche when I was just a kid. I was about 9 years old. It was a couple of years after I got my first snowboard."  
  
"He was a boarder?"  
  
"No, he liked to ski."  
  
"I knew it. Skiing is a horrible sport. How the hell do you walk with those things on your feet?!"  
  
I shrugged, "I dunno. My cousins, my brother, and I always preferred snowboarding."  
  
Psymon nodded. "Yeah, snowboarding's the sport, man. I also like mountain biking."  
  
"Never tried it."  
  
"Yeah, I figured."  
  
"I only snowboard. Nothing else. I never even tried skateboarding, but my brother skateboards,"  
  
"Skateboarding, eh? Blah, not really a sport."  
  
I nodded, resting my chin on the edge of my hand. Psymon was silent for a while, and then I realized:  
  
Psymon and I had a normal conversation!  
  
Suddenly, the helicopter swerved around, nearly knocking me over. I trembled, clutching the seat and holding on for dear life!  
  
"Man!" Psymon laughed, "If this freaks you out, I can't wait to see you when the avalanches hit!"  
  
Oh no...  
  
***  
  
It was a long ride up, and Psymon and I just remained quiet for the remainder of the trip. Psymon even refrained from bothering me, which was thankful.  
  
Psymon opened the door roughly, and latched his snowboard on. I did the same, and Psymon threw himself out of the helicopter, screaming all the way down. I shuddered. I was having some second thoughts about this....  
  
Oh well, you only live once, right?  
  
I held my breath, and went after Psymon, screaming in complete horror all the way down.  
  
Psymon was waiting for me at the bottom, grinning from ear to ear. "See?" he said happily, "That wasn't so bad, now was it?"  
  
I nodded, still trembling. The snow was vicious! I put on my headphones and looked around cautiously. This was it. Peak Three. I was going to compete here at the end of the snowboarding season with Psymon.  
  
But then again, I was competing with him NOW.  
  
"Well? Are you gonna stand there all day? Hah! You should see yourself! You look like some timid little mouse in a cave! C'mon! Let's go!"  
  
I nodded slowly, not really paying attention to him. I put my goggles over my eyes, and sighed. This was it.... 


	8. Accidents and Nightmares

Chapter VIII  
  
AN: HAPPY HOLIDAYS! WOOO! CHRISTMAS!!! I know what I want this year!! (Psymon, Mac, Nate, Johnny Depp...) Er, I'll stop now! :D You guys have a happy holiday and a Merry Christmas! I'm gonna get SSX 3 for Christmas! Hell yeah!!! Or at least, I hope so... Sorry about now updating for a while, it's been a hectic week for me! So sorry! A thousand apologies! On with the story! Oh, and sorry it's kind of short....and a little creepy at the end! And a little sad...poor girl, I feel bad for her... Oh yes, and thank you for the reviews! I really love you people!  
  
"Ready?" I nodded and gave Psymon a thumbs up.  
  
I watched Psymon take in a breath of mountain air and grin. "This is livin' Yuri! I'm gonna show you what the phrase 'beautiful pain' means!"  
  
I gulped, hoping he was joking. But with Psymon Stark, you could never know....  
  
Psymon raised his hand, smirking in utter delight. I shuddered and pulled my gloves on. Okay...this was it...okay....just calm down...no bid deal, right?  
  
"GO!" Psymon roared, speeding forward.  
  
I went ahead, cruising with him neck and neck. I was trying my hardest, leaning forward as the icy wind whipped my long braid around my face. My ears stung, despite the bright red beanie pulled over my head. I wiped the snow off my goggles, stealing a glance at Psymon, the legendary boarder Roy, my cousin, idolized.  
  
I stared at him in disbelief for two seconds, though it seemed to last longer. He was wearing a black beater, I saw him in it in the helicopter, and over it, he was wearing a heavy black and red jacket. His hair was sticking out in all different directions, and his gloves were tight around his hands. He was smirking menacingly, and leaning forward. He caught me glance and widened his grin. "Hey, Yuri, you gonna stare at me or board, girl?" I blushed and focused back on the track. He had an alpine board.... Odd, I wasn't used to watching Psymon race with an alpine board. Despite the alpine board's obvious advantage with speed, Psymon was more of a BX kind of guy. Roy had studied his boarding techniques, and I couldn't ignore Roy's ramblings when we were watching him race. I was actually faring well, until I noticed that Psymon was chuckling to himself. I could hear him over the howling winds when his chuckle erupted into a hysterical laugh.  
  
I widened my eyes and stared at him in question.  
  
"You think you got me, Cheerios?" he bellowed, fighting back his snorts of laughter, "I'm not even trying!!"  
  
Oh no, this doesn't sound good.  
  
Psymon pushed forward, literally flying ahead of me. He extended his arms out and let his head fall back, "This is living!!! Feel the wind, girl!"  
  
I narrowed my eyes. The wind was so cold that it was burning my cheeks, if that made any sense. I had to do this; I had to prove that I was a worthy component. However, my luck wasn't faring so well against the almighty Psymon Stark.  
  
He was still relatively close to me, but I knew he was only toying with me. He probably could've made it down the mountain by now, but he only lingered ahead of me to piss me off....  
  
And he was succeeding.  
  
"Damn," I muttered when he turned suddenly to the right, and then turned back to the left. I was tailing him, determined to at least keep him in sight. There was a large glass billboard ahead, and Psymon cackled.  
  
"This is what you do if you want to win! Watch closely!" He shouted over his shoulder, but I could barely hear him.  
  
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Psymon swerved right in front of me, colliding into glass, shard flying everywhere. I shielded my head with my arms, but the glass tore at my arms. I recoiled, not even opening my eyes. Next thing I knew, my board stopped suddenly, and I was sliding-no, more like flying-headfirst through the snow, hitting shards of glass along the way.  
  
I moaned, pushing myself up with my arms. I was so sore.... I unlatched myself from the board, and did the smartest thing I could think of. I curled up into a ball, and sniffed.  
  
My shirt was torn into pieces, but I was still decently covered, thank God. Psymon had stopped immediately, staring back at me. I looked up at him, and there was a kind of 'understanding' silence between us.  
  
"Holy shit..." was all that came out of Psymon's mouth. I didn't even notice what he was talking about; all I knew is that when I followed his gaze behind me, I noticed that there was a trail of blood in the snow.  
  
And that blood was mine.  
  
"Shit, Yuri! What the hell happened?"  
  
"I dunno," I moaned, clutching my head. "Glass.....came out of nowhere....." I looked down at my left leg that was throbbing something fierce, which had a huge slash down my calf. I drew back at the sight, and emitted a little squeak. Half of my pants were torn, and a shard of glass was still sticking out in an awkward position of my calf.  
  
"Ohmigod..." I whispered, "What do I do, what do I do, what do I do," It wasn't really much of a question; it was more like a chant, a prayer.  
  
Psymon stared at my leg, fixed in horror. Suddenly, he seemed to snap out of it, and immediately unstrapped himself from his board. He bent down beside my leg, unsure what to do.  
  
I screamed; it seemed like the wind was tearing through my leg, and that only made it bleed more freely. It didn't hurt that much, it was just the fact that the wind was making it sting. I looked away, covering my eyes with my hands and screamed into them.  
  
"Do I take it out?"  
  
"NO! God, no! Please!" I bawled, tears pouring from my eyes. Fear was striking me now, and I didn't want Psymon to touch me. I only laid back in the blood stained snow and cried.  
  
"Look," Psymon said angrily, sliding his jacket off and pulling off his beater, "I'm gonna have to take it out, whether you like it or not. Bite this," he said simply, removing his belt and handing it to me.  
  
I raised an eye brow in question, but did I was told. I clamped my teeth onto his belt as he began to take the shard of glass out of my leg. "Don't scream!" he said when I showed a hint of a moan, "Just bite harder,"  
  
I nodded, biting harder than ever. I could hear the squishes coming from my leg, and it disgusted me!!! I felt like throwing up and my leg only pounded in pain, more like the glass was digging in deeper, tearing my flesh apart. Finally, Psymon removed the belt from my mouth. I had had my eyes shut tight, and long after Psymon had removed the shard, I was still chewing onto the belt. He took his black beater he had taken off and wrapped it around my leg tightly. "It'll stop the blood flow," he muttered. He wrapped his jacket around me, and whispered, "It'll be okay. I'm gonna call Atomika, okay?"  
  
I nodded. Atomika. Hot cocoa. Fireplace. Warm clothes. Hot bath. Mac.....  
  
Psymon cursed under his breath.  
  
"What? What's wrong?"  
  
"No reception!!" he roared, "Goddammit!"  
  
My heart sunk, and I just wanted to collapse onto the snow. "No reception...."  
  
Psymon shook the M-comm violently. "I can't send a message! It's just blank! I can't even get the goddamned radio! SHIT!"  
  
I shivered, pulling Psymon's heavy snow coat tighter around me. Psymon was absolutely furious, shaking with anger....  
  
"Psy?" I offered, "Nate was at the lodge...maybe...."  
  
"Nate? You mean that Logan guy?"-Psymon spat in the snow-"Feh. He won't come."  
  
"Why not? He told me to wait. He wanted to come. He'll come!" I said, hopefully.  
  
"Yeah, what if he comes?" Psymon mumbled, "He'll be here, with a non- working M-comm as well. What're we supposed to do until then?"  
  
"Well, everyone knows that I'm up here, anyway," I sighed, burying my face into my hands. Yeah, I knew for a fact that eventually everyone would realize we were gone and something must've gone wrong, but so what? We'd be stuck here for up to hours, maybe even into the night. And do you realize how cold it would be on Peak Three? It was supposed to dip into the negatives, with Psymon Stark with no shirt and me with torn pants and a torn shirt. I shuddered. This was it; I was going to get frostbite, definitely on my leg.  
  
***  
  
Psymon's M-comm was buried off into the snow somewhere, and my M-comm still refused to work. Aggravated, I clipped it to my belt and shivered. I had tenderly tucked my legs inside Psymon's jacket I was wearing, holding my knees to my chest.  
  
Psymon had fallen asleep, rolling around in the snow and grumbling every now and then.  
  
"Must be nice not to be able to feel anything...." I muttered under my breath, seizing a twig and drawing faces in the snow. Why wasn't Nate here? Did something go wrong? It must've been past an hour...something must've happened....  
  
At the time, I didn't now Nate would have been coming to my rescue within the hour. I remember thinking I wanted to die...I wanted to die...just so the pain would stop...and all I could think about was dying...  
  
My eyes closed slowly...drifting off into a sleep.  
  
***  
  
"Yuri, what the hell are you doing!?" Roy shouted at me.  
  
"Wha-?"  
  
"You can't jump the ramp! No way!" Ryan said.  
  
My vision was blurry, but I could see Ryan, Roy, and Eric staring at me angrily.  
  
"Hey guys...what's wrong?" I asked them, rubbing my head.  
  
"You can't do it." Eric said.  
  
"You can't do anything." Ryan added.  
  
"No one likes you." Roy muttered.  
  
"You're just a kid," Suddenly, Nate appeared from behind Ryan and glared at me.  
  
"What?" I said, dazed, "Nate?"  
  
"You're such a dork, Yuri," Griff said, appearing out of nowhere in the same fashion as Nate. I looked around me in horror, and saw all of the SSX veterans appearing out of nowhere. Allegra snorted and threw a snowball at my face.  
  
"Hey!" I said angrily, "What's wrong with you guys?"  
  
"You're the problem here!" Psymon growled, "You're such an idiot!"  
  
"Yeah, what a dork. She was too shy when we first met her, and now she thinks she's the shit." Zoe muttered darkly.  
  
"I agree, Zoe. She could never be a vet," Elise said, "Now Allegra here can do anything,"  
  
Nate nodded, "Yeah, much better than that twit."  
  
"Twit!?" I protested, "Nate, I thought-"  
  
"You think you can beat me?" Kaori screamed, "You can't even nail three tricks! You're such a pathetic excuse for a boarder, Panda!"  
  
Atomika nodded, "I must've made a mistake. I'm recruiting Eric instead of you. Get out of here."  
  
"What are you talking about? Guys? Kaori? Atomika?"  
  
It was a weird dream, I had to admit, but it would be a long time before I woke from that nightmare. 


	9. Rescued

Chapter IX  
  
AN: REALLY SHORT! IT'S SO SHORT! ARRRGH! I've hit a writer's block with this story....oh no! Don't worry, though. I'm posting this part because I don't want to leave you hanging! Don't worry, more character interaction in the next chapter (and don't take that the wrong way!)! Yuri will get better! Promise!  
  
I groaned as my eyes fluttered open to a dull sound.  
  
"Psymon?" I sat up suddenly, and realized that Psymon was awake too. I must've dozed off....  
  
"Psymon? What the hell-?" I looked up in awe as the helicopter/jet thing was looming overhead. Psymon was standing over me, waving his arms frantically. It was approaching us slowly, and my head was throbbing. My hair was being swept around my face, and my arms were freezing. I felt naked and vulnerable all of the sudden. I didn't want anyone to see me sitting there, freezing.  
  
I closed my eyes again and just wanted to fall asleep.  
  
***  
  
"Is she okay?"  
  
"Ohmigod!"  
  
"Her leg!"  
  
"Psymon what the hell did you do!?"  
  
"When did you leave?"  
  
"What happened, Stark?"  
  
I heard everyone talking, whispering and murmuring. I moaned and touched my head tenderly. It was throbbing in pain. All I could think about at that time was sleep. And a bath.  
  
"We were...snowboarding...when...I went through a billboard-you know, a shortcut-and next thing I know, the glass shards went on an all out thrashing on her body. You saw the trail of blood? That was when she flew straight through the snow."  
  
"Her leg? It-"  
  
"Had a glass shard in it. I removed it."  
  
"She's going to need medical attention." Someone said. It sounded like Mac, "You're gonna have to take her to Atomika and explain everything,"  
  
"She's gonna be okay?" that voice was definitely Nate's, I could recognize him.  
  
I kept my eyes closed, and slowly slipped off into sleep once again.  
  
***  
  
"Yuri? You awake now?"  
  
My eyes snapped open, and I found myself staring at Atomika. I was laying down on a small twin bed in the room Griff and I shared, and he was standing over me.  
  
I looked down at my leg that I saw bleeding not to long ago at Peak Three. From right below to the knee, it was covered in a cast, including my foot.  
  
I looked back at the blurry vision of the spike haired guy in front of me. "Atomika?"  
  
He nodded. "You're alright?"  
  
"I'm far from alright. My head hurts..." I mumbled, "What happened? Where's Psy?"  
  
"You've been out cold all day yesterday and most of today now, Yuri. In and out. One minute you were sitting there and I was talking to you, another minute you were out like a light bulb," Atomika said, "Psy's out boarding, as the rest of them are. Your leg's gonna heal soon enough, don't worry. Not that big of an injury, but still critical, due to the loss of blood,"  
  
"What?"  
  
"I'm sure you'll be wanting to have everything explained, eh?" Atomika smiled, "Well, when we got back from the 'Happiness' run-which was at about six in the evening-Nate was sitting in the lobby, biting his fingernails. As soon as he saw us, he jumped up and told us you and Psy had gone to Peak Three and had been gone all day."  
  
I sighed, choking back tears, "Psy's M-comm didn't work, and we were stuck there almost all day,"  
  
Atomika placed a hot washcloth over my forehead, "Yeah," he whispered, "We know, Psy told us the entire story. Well, immediately all of the boarders demanded we go up to Peak Three and look for you two. I stayed behind just in case. When they got back, your leg was pretty messed up, and you had a cut on the back of your head."  
  
I gasped, tenderly touching my head.  
  
"No worries," Atomika grinned, "You didn't loose any hair,"  
  
I giggled, "Thanks, Atomika. That's very reassuring..."  
  
"You're injuries..." he started, "Well, all about your little injuries...not really a big deal, but I'm sure you're still in a little state of shock there, eh?"  
  
I nodded. The image of my leg just torn...made me shudder...  
  
"Well, you'll snowboard within the week, trust me. Your leg should heal quickly, according to our medical staff, and with the right equipment and precaution, you'll be able to attend all of your races and events."  
  
"Good,"  
  
Atomika was silent for a while. He sat down on the bed I was laying on, and sighed. He began to massage his temples. "Yuri..." he started, taking off his sunglasses and running a hand through his spiked hair, "As much as I think you're a wonderful boarder and a great kid..."  
  
"Yeah?" I said, sitting up a little straighter. My nightmare....  
  
It couldn't be coming true, could it?  
  
"You disobeyed the rules, Yuri," Atomika said.  
  
My heart sank... "What? No-wait-you don't understand! Psymon challenged me! All of the boarders knew about it, I didn't know-"  
  
Atomika nodded gravely, "But you don't remember what I said during our first little meeting, do you? I said you weren't allowed to go on any track you haven't made available to you. Happiness is the only course you can go on, Yuri, and you kind of shot up the ladder going to Peak Three,"  
  
"Yeah, but-"  
  
"Yuri, that's why we don't want any of the racers skipping events, okay? You can't be doing that. I'm sorry if you didn't understand that in the first place, and I suppose I can let it slip, but if you pull a stunt like that again..."  
  
I was at a loss for words. I couldn't believe it. Everyone knew about my event with Psymon, and no one bothered to tell me it was against the rules?  
  
As if reading my mind, Atomika said, "I'm sorry if the rules weren't made clear to you and all of the other boarders. I'll be sure to announce it tonight at the meeting. Get better soon, kid," He ruffled my hair, and with that, he left. 


	10. Secret Revealed!

Chapter 10  
  
AN: This chapter is to kinda get all the racing statuses straight. Also, there's gonna be a big dramatic thing happening soon if I decided to go through with it (heh, heh, heh,) Thanks for reviewing, people! Luv yah lots! Merry Christmas!  
  
Little by little, I could feel my strength come back. I was so exhausted half of the time, and now I felt like I was slowly becoming better. Two days later, I found myself sitting in the lodge living room, having Griff teach me to play chess while Moby watched intently over Griff's shoulder. Kaori was sipping hot chocolate and reading a manga (Marmalade Boy), one that I had lent her. The fireplace burned on, and somehow, it made me feel so cozy.  
  
"No, no, mate," Moby said for the fifth time, seizing the bishop and shaking his head disapprovingly. "Haven't I taught you anything? It moves like...this..." Moby explained as he moved the bishop over the board slowly, taking my pawn in the process.  
  
"No fair!" I cried, "Griff has help!"  
  
Kaori laughed, "Moby, I think Griff knows how to play. You treat him like a baby,"  
  
Griff glared at Moby, snatching the chess piece back, "She's right, you know! I'M the one teaching Yuri, not you!"  
  
Moby gave me a sympathizing look, but I only smiled, "He is right. I do want to learn,"  
  
Moby sighed and collapsed back onto the sofa. "Suit yerself, mate,"  
  
Suddenly, the door flew open and in stomped in a very furious Elise.  
  
"The NERVE of the girl!" Elise growled, "HOW DARE SHE!"  
  
Zoe followed in afterwards, rubbing her temples and shaking the snow off of her.  
  
"Well, well, well, look what the cat dragged in," Griff muttered. I figured he was talking about Zoe. Those two didn't get along...we all knew...  
  
"Look, kid, I don't have the time OR the energy to bother with you," Zoe retaliated, "I'll ignore you some other time,"  
  
I laughed as Griff's face grew bright red. He'd just been smacked down! In front of his crush Elise!  
  
"Rough day, luv?" Moby ignored Griff as he asked Elise this question.  
  
"You have NO idea!" Elise said darkly.  
  
"I have an idea," Zoe raised a hand timidly, groaning when she met Elise's glare.  
  
"What happened, Ellie?" Kaori asked quietly, setting her book down.  
  
"Yeah, what's up?"  
  
"Nothing, Yuri...." Elise whispered as she took off her sunglasses and placed them on the end table. She collapsed onto the sofa along with Zoe and pouted. Griff exchanged glances with me and we both shrugged.  
  
Everyone had a pretty rough idea of Elise's cycle of anger. First, she would be pissed and all hell would break loose. That was the time when we all avoided her. After the 'Ice Queen' cooled herself down, she'd mope around waiting for someone to realize the pain she's in.  
  
"Something is wrong, Ellie," Kaori said, "What happened? Was it something that happened during your show-off event?"  
  
Elise nodded, "That Allegra girl..."  
  
"She's got some mad skills," Zoe said quietly, "She was trickin' all over the damn place like she owned it,"  
  
"Really?" I sat up and listened intently as Zoe described Allegra's über tricks. She had supposedly mastered many advanced tricks, and had successfully beaten Mac as well as Zoe and Elise in the show-off event. Mac had taken it to heart and was busy ripping it up on Peak One to vent his anger.  
  
"Oh, tell me he is okay, Zo!" Kaori pleaded.  
  
Zoe shrugged, "Yeah, he's okay, just really pissed off."  
  
Griff grunted, "He deserves it. That little trash talkin' punk...all he does is talk smack!"  
  
All of us roared in laughter, "You know, Griff," Elise said, "For someone who hates Mac as much as you, you're beginning to sound like him..."  
  
Griff's cheeks grew bright red. Kaori and I exchanged looks and giggled.  
  
"I'm gonna go get some more hot cocoa. Anyone want some?" I asked, steadily getting up. My leg was feeling much better, and I had to admit, I was eager to get out on the slopes and tear it up.  
  
"I want some!" Griff said immediately.  
  
"If you'd please," Elise sighed.  
  
"Yeah, same 'ere, love,"  
  
Kaori accompanied me to the kitchens.  
  
"Did you see the new charts?" she asked me, pointing to the refrigerator.  
  
"No," I said, "why?"  
  
"Read them!"  
  
I scanned my eyes over the paper as I filled the coffee cups with hot cocoa mix. Psymon was apparently dominating all the slopes. He had the highest score and records for Peak III. However, Nate was right behind Psymon, ruling Peak II. Mac, however, had lost his throne to Allegra in the show-off events.  
  
"I'm worried about him," Kaori murmured, following my gaze to Mac's name on the paper. "He doesn't take well to losing..."  
  
"Yeah, I've seen him on the television. He used to go crazy with Moby, huh?" I laughed.  
  
"Yes, that is true. They were always at it, but somehow, over the year I suppose, they changed their attitude towards each other. They still do not like each other that much, though, but they are friends,"  
  
I stifled a laugh, "Somehow I find that hard to believe,"  
  
"So...you're leg is okay?"  
  
I nodded, "Nothing a little rest didn't heal. How's Psymon?"  
  
"Oh!" Kaori whispered excitedly, "He is very angry! Atomika yelled at him because of you,"  
  
Because of me? Because he challenged me to race him on Peak Three? I couldn't help but feel guilty.... But then again, he was the one who flew into the glass board....  
  
I sighed, setting the three hot cocoa filled mugs onto a tray and went into the lodge's main room. Moby and Griff were at it again, and Elise had retreated to her room. Zoe was busy laughing her head off.  
  
"What happened?" I asked, "Where's Elise? I thought she wanted hot cocoa?"  
  
"Sorry, Yuri, but Elise doesn't feel like eating or drinking anything right now," Zoe said between her laughs.  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Because!" Griff screamed, "Moby found out I like Elise and decided to tell her!!!"  
  
Kaori gasped and dropped her plate full of cookies. "Oh no! And Elise didn't take it well, did she?"  
  
"No! SHE DIDN'T!! THANKS MOBY!" Griff screamed as he hurled a pillow at Moby. I flinched as the pillow flew past me. Moby was a little too quick for Griff, though. He caught the pillow, shielding his face and grinned.  
  
"It was just a joke, mate, besides, yeh don't think she honestly would like yeh?"  
  
Griff glowed. His face was twisting slowly into an angry expression. Kaori and I exchanged looks of worry, and decided to shrink out of the room.  
  
Zoe sighed, "Look, Griff, I'm sure he didn't mean too-"  
  
"What're you talkin' about, Zo?" Moby cut her off, "O' course I meant to!"  
  
That seemed to be that last draw for Griff. Kaori and I heard Griff scream something unclear and Moby shouted in shock. Kaori and I poked our heads into the room and saw Griff attempting to strangle poor Moby.  
  
"Griff!" Kaori shrieked and tried to pry him off. Moby was handling the situation well, thank goodness. He was flailing against Griff's grip, throwing him off him.  
  
Kaori backed off immediately and stared at Griff in horror. Griff was glaring at me.  
  
"You told him!"  
  
"No! Really!" I protested, backing away slowly.  
  
"You told him!" Griff screamed, and retreated to the back of the lodge to our room. We could hear him rummaging around in our room, but he came back moments later with his board and gear and slammed the lodge door shut.  
  
"Well, I think the lil' tyke's mad..." Moby whispered. 


	11. High Stakes

Chapter 11  
  
"Go after him!" Zoe hissed, "You know he's reckless and pissed! And you know what that means!"  
  
Moby sighed, "Do I have to?"  
  
Zoe nodded and glared at him. "It's your fault."  
  
Moby groaned as he took off soon after.  
  
Kaori and I exchanged glances. Zoe looked back at us and shook her head, "Just leave Elise alone. She's really embarrassed. Moby was being a jerk,"  
  
I nodded, and retreated back to my room with Kaori. When I opened the door, I gasped.  
  
All of my stuff...all of my half of the room...was completely thrashed...  
  
Kaori stifled a squeak and stared at my room. All of the drawers had been taken out of the dresser and my clothes were strewn across the floor carelessly, my desk was completely out of order, but what upset me the most was my picture of me, Roy, Ryan, and Eric.  
  
It was smashed through the center and Griff had torn it in half.  
  
Anger like I had never felt before surged up inside me, and I couldn't wait to get my hands around Griff's neck. I didn't care if he was my roommate and it was stupid to start a bad relationship with someone you'll be living with for the rest of the winter, I just wanted to kill him.  
  
I gritted my teeth and clenched my fists, but suddenly, when I looked back at my picture, I felt an overwhelming sadness to take over me. I collapsed on the floor and began to cry quietly. Kaori was shocked to see me crying, but she kneeled beside me and comforted me nonetheless.  
  
"It's okay, Panda Bear, it can be cleaned up," she whispered soothingly.  
  
"No-" I choked back the tears inside of me as I pointed to the smashed picture, "Those are my cousins and my brother...they are my family. And-Griff-broke-it!!" I sobbed loudly, now clutching the picture.  
  
Elise opened the door slowly and saw me.  
  
"Yuri?"  
  
I looked back at her, eyes red and wet from the tears and sobbed even more. "He broke my picture!"  
  
Soon enough, I had Zoe, Kaori, and Elise around me, trying to comfort me.  
  
I only cried harder...  
  
"Ryan...Eric...Roy..." I murmured, "They are my only family...."  
  
Suddenly, it was like everything went blank. I couldn't hear anything. I was so angry...I was so angry...  
  
I was going to find Griff and kill him myself.  
  
I violently shoved everyone off of me and grabbed my goggles and board. Despite everyone's cries of "come back", I put my bucket hat over my head and ran out of the door. I didn't know where I was headed, but I sure as hell hoped I could find Griff. And slowly kill him!  
  
***  
  
Kaori's Point of View:  
  
She was angry...  
  
That was the first time we've ever seen her get so angry...  
  
I told her not to go...that her leg wasn't that healed enough to handle her weight while she boarded...but she left despite our wishes.  
  
Poor Griff...I knew how he was feeling. The poor baby was picked on ever since he came because of his age. But that gave him no right to do that to Yuri. It was all Moby's fault...and Ellie. If she hadn't overreacted...  
  
***  
  
I narrowed my eyes and pushed out, slowly gliding along the path. I passed a few courses, but no sign of anyone. Moby and Griff had to be around here somewhere. The weight on my leg grew heavier, but not painful, thank god.  
  
Finally, after what seemed like hours, I could see Moby in the distance.  
  
"Moby!" I shouted, waving him down. He stopped and took off his sunglasses as he stared at me in mock amusement.  
  
"What're yeh doin' here, girl? You pitchin' to get yer other leg mangled?"  
  
"No," I said, irritated already, "Have you seen Griff?"  
  
Moby shook his head and sighed, "I dunno where the little blighter could be...I looked everywhere on Peak One..."  
  
"You don't think...?"  
  
Moby shrugged, "It's possible. Nate and Griff are very close, y'know. He could be on Peak Two,"  
  
"What do we do? I mean, we can't go on Peak Two,"  
  
"Yeah, we don't want you gettin' into any more trouble, now do we, eh?"  
  
"You know," I muttered darkly, "I think Kaori should have just LET Griff strangle you. I think we all would've been happy."  
  
Moby snorted, "Ah, you know you don't mean that,"  
  
"Actually, I do," I mumbled, "Look, I'm going back to the lodge. There's no use looking for him now. He's probably out somewhere on Peak Two..."  
  
Moby nodded, "I'll come with yeh then. But whattayah say about a little showdown at Happiness?"  
  
My jaw dropped. This wasn't good. My leg wasn't exactly all that healed, and besides, I was to challenge THE Moby Jones? Sure, he was an asshole, but I was going to race Moby Jones.  
  
"What's wrong, bugger, you don't wanna race? Little too big for yeh, eh?" Moby teased.  
  
"Nothing like that," I said, "It's just..."  
  
"What? Your leg? Trying to make up excuses now, huh?" Moby had a good little laugh about that.  
  
I glared at him, "Okay, Moby, but if I win, you apologize to Griff and tell him that it wasn't me who told you that he liked Elise. And," I continued, "You stop being such an asswipe!"  
  
Moby blinked.  
  
"Agreed?"  
  
"Alright, mate, you got me. But I won't be doing any apologizing, girly! I don't intend to lose,"  
  
***  
  
I tightened the strap on my goggles and made sure my braid was secure underneath my baby blue bucket hat. I made sure my gloves were on good and tight.  
  
I also prayed for a miracle.  
  
Moby was next to me, squaring things away like I was. Finally, when everything was all set, Moby nodded.  
  
(Okay,) I thought hopefully, (maybe I'll just die a quick death before I'm humiliated...)  
  
I breathed in through my nostrils deeply and slowly exhaled through my mouth. This was going to take some work...  
  
Moby was gripping the side handles in his gate as I was. He began pumping his arms when the countdown began.  
  
Red light...  
  
Red light...  
  
Red light...  
  
Goddamn red light...  
  
Yellow...it was yellow now...  
  
I know my colors...  
  
Green!  
  
I pushed out, but somehow Moby had gotten ahead of me. The wind stung my face as I leaned forward in my stance.  
  
I didn't dare swing at Moby. He was huge...and I was just some little kid compared to him. Slowly but steadily, I was catching up to him. It was odd, boarding without my music. I guess I had been in so much of a hurry to murder Griff that I had forgotten my music...my motivation.  
  
Nevertheless, that didn't stop me from putting up one helluva fight. Moby growled in frustration as he attempted to lose me. I was determined to win this race. I was gonna show Moby what I was made of! I couldn't wait to tell everyone that I raced Moby Jones! Eric is never gonna believe this!  
  
...Eric...  
  
His picture...was...broken.  
  
I shook my head. No, I had to remain focused.  
  
"Alright, bugger, you wanna tail me? Tail this!" Moby swerved suddenly and then...he was gone.  
  
I frantically looked in every direction, but I couldn't find him. Moby had used some shortcut...that I didn't know about.  
  
No! This can't be! If I don't win, then Griff is going to think that I told Moby he liked Elise! And that means Griff will never talk to me again! As much as I wanted that the first couple of days on the tour, I couldn't do that. Griff and I were friends and I still...  
  
I sighed.  
  
Griff broke Eric, Roy, and Ryan. They were my family.  
  
But, it wasn't Griff's fault. Moby had done this. It was Moby's fault. If Moby hadn't done something that stupid, then Griff and I would still be friends.  
  
I gritted me teeth and scanned the track around me for some shortcut.  
  
There was more on the line than some stupid points or award. This was a matter of pride and friendship. Moby Jones may be one of the most famous boarders in the circuit, but I was gonna show him that you don't mess with Yuri Yoshioka. 


	12. Family Memories

Chapter 12  
  
AN: Normally, I have really short chapters, but this one is kinda long! Yay! Also, if you've been reading my other SSX story, "Final Race" I posted the 2nd part! Yay! It's called "Icy Paradise". Nosymp's Angel, Sara, Starlight, everyone else! You guys are the greatest reviewers a writer could have!   
  
I slid into the tunnel quickly and tried to calm myself down.  
  
There was still hope. The worst part of this race was not knowing whether or not I was ahead of if Moby was ahead.  
  
Suddenly, my M-comm beeped.  
  
I didn't dare to even glance at it. Racing requires full attention, nothing less. This is why I need my music. I didn't want to hear some snide remarks or the cheering of a crowd. They make me nervous...  
  
I emerged out of the tunnel soon enough and caught my breath. The view was amazing. I was literally flying...  
  
It was incredible...this feeling you get when you're soaring through the air. My stomach churned in excitement. My heart pounded in nervousness. I'd gotten more air before, but for some reason, it was like everything in that moment in time was forgotten. I felt...free.  
  
Suddenly, I felt my board hit the ground. I didn't know what just happened, but I was positive nothing of the sort would ever happen again.  
  
The amount of time that had passed seemed to rise, as well as my nervousness. The tunnel seemed to have been a very useful shortcut, but I also feared that it might've led me off the track. I imagined Moby sitting at the finish line twiddling his thumbs and waiting for me.  
  
No.  
  
That can't happen. I was gonna win this godforsaken race. This is the only race that I need to win right and I-  
  
"AARGH!" I screamed in pain as the weight on my leg increased. Shit...that can't mean anything good! I tried to shift my weight on my other leg, but I couldn't. It was impossible to snowboard with this goddamn leg!  
  
I ignored my pain and pushed forward. Everything was bare and quiet. Suddenly, I could see Moby up ahead.  
  
"Moby Jones! I'll get you!" I shouted.  
  
Moby did a double take over his shoulder. "Well, c'mon then, Yuri! I thought you were supposed to be an okay racer!"  
  
Okay, if this is how he wanted to play, then we'll play that way!  
  
"The finish line is just ahead, you little bugger! Let's see whatcha got!"  
  
I gasped. No! He was right! You could practically see the finish line! I leaned forward and tucked my hands behind me. This is it! Despite the throbbing sensation in my leg, I pushed myself forward, determined to catch Moby.  
  
I couldn't pass him....  
  
I couldn't pass him!!!!  
  
We coasted over the finish line, Moby inches ahead of me. I could've reached forward and touched him...I could've pushed him down...but I didn't....  
  
I had lost.  
  
I collapsed on the snow and felt like crying. I had failed Griff, but more importantly, it felt like I had failed Eric...Roy...and my brother, Ryan.  
  
I could feel Moby's eyes on me.  
  
"Yuri?" he whispered, cautiously approaching me after he took off his board. He touched my shoulder gently, "You okay, kid?"  
  
"No..." I sobbed, "Griff hates me..."  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"Griff...after he got all mad at me, he broke everything in my room. Including my picture of my cousins and my brother," I cried, "and I miss them so much! That picture is all that I have that reminds me of them! You have no idea how close we all are...." I sniffed, wiping my face with the back of my hand.  
  
Moby heaved a sigh and sat down on the snow next to me, "Look, if it means that much to you, I'll apologize to Griff, alright? Does that make it any better?"  
  
I shook my head, "Ryan, Eric and Roy..."  
  
"Those your cousins and brother?"  
  
I nodded.  
  
"Let's just get back to the lodge," Moby offered, "I'll make you some chocolate and we can talk about this later, okay?"  
  
***  
  
Moby opened the lodge door and led my inside. He draped a hand over my shoulder and whispered another "Sorry,"  
  
I looked up to see Kaori standing there with a cup of coffee. "Yuri?" she let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness...Mac, Nate and Ellie were going to go look for you!"  
  
"Nate?" I asked.  
  
"Over here, kid!" Nate waved at me and grinned. He had all his snowboard gear and was sitting with Mac on the sofa.  
  
Mac snorted, "Well, we should thank Elise for taking forever to get ready. If Nate and I were lookin' for you, then we woulda been outta here hours ago!"  
  
"I heard that, you little twerp!" Elise muttered, emerging from the back rooms. "Yuri! You okay, kid?"  
  
Moby nodded for me, "Get her some hot chocolate, Elise."  
  
Elise nodded and disappeared into the kitchen.  
  
"Did...Griff come back yet?" I asked quietly.  
  
Kaori nodded gravely. "He came back and Zoe yelled at him. He got all upset and ran off again with Zoe on his tail,"  
  
"Yeah," Nate said, "I tried gettin' the little booger to stay, but he refused,"  
  
"Hey, Yuri," Mac grinned, "Why don't you look in your room, eh? We got you a surprise,"  
  
Kaori giggled.  
  
I gave a questioning look to Nate, but he only shrugged.  
  
"C'mon, mate," Moby said, leading me to the back rooms.  
  
Kaori followed me close behind. "Go to your bedroom!"  
  
I gripped the doorknob, only after I looked at Mac, Nate, Kaori, Moby, and Elise. They were all grinning!  
  
I opened the door slowly, and gasped.  
  
"Kaori! It's beautiful!!"  
  
Kaori giggled, "Honto ni? You really think so?"  
  
I nodded, "It's gorgeous!"  
  
"Domo arigato!" she bowed, her cheeks bright red.  
  
I hugged her, "You're my best friend, Kaori! You've all been so nice to me!"  
  
Elise smiled, "Glad you like it, Yuri. We all worked on it. It was hell trying to get all of that into there."  
  
Mac nodded, "Yeah, especially all those godforsaken stuffed panda bears!"  
  
Kaori playfully slapped his shoulder.  
  
I no longer had Griff for a roommate. Kaori was my new roommate! All of my stuff Griff had trashed was all put back together neatly, and Kaori's twin bed was near mine. Both of our beds were baby blue with pale pink pillows, and they were buried with stuffed chibi pandas! I loved it! Those must've been Kaori's sheets and animals!  
  
"But..." I started, "Where's Griff staying?"  
  
"With me," Nate said before adding hastily, "Unfortunately."  
  
We all laughed. Elise handed me my mug of hot chocolate and we all sat in Kaori's and my new bedroom, talking about random stuff.  
  
I really loved the SSX stars. They were the best friends I could have.  
  
***  
  
I was turning eight years old that day. It was December 18, my birthday. Eight years old. A giant step for a seven year old.  
  
Roy was spending the night at our house for my birthday. Eric lived with us, so it was all three of us in the living room, playing some of the new video games I had gotten last night during the party. My dad was still asleep. He must've been exhausted because he had been busy cleaning up last night's pizza party from my birthday celebration.  
  
Ryan was letting me win at the video game, I knew it.  
  
"Just because it's my birthday!" I whined, "You're gonna let me win?"  
  
Ryan snorted, "You wish,"  
  
Eric was laughing at us.  
  
Roy sighed, "When're we gonna go snowboarding?"  
  
Eric and Ryan glared at Roy. I didn't know why, but they did. I was in for a treat that day.  
  
"So, eight years old today, my little princess?" My father walked in, ruffling my hair. I couldn't pry my eyes off the television screen; I was so absorbed into the game.  
  
"Yeah," I mumbled.  
  
"Yep, Yuri can barely contain her excitement," Ryan said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.  
  
I nodded, "Uh-huh. Really excited."  
  
"Hey, Yuri, we're going snowboarding today," Roy stated.  
  
Eric glared at him. "Shut up, Roy, you wanna ruin it?"  
  
Ryan groaned, "I think you just did, Eric!"  
  
Dad rolled his eyes as he pulled his jacket on.  
  
"I won!" I exclaimed, doing my happy dance. I didn't hear anything the boys had said.  
  
Dad picked up the car keys and grinned mischievously, "Ready?"  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"C'mon, Yuri!"  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
"Let's go! I'm ready!"  
  
"Where're we going? What's going on?" I said, a little startled, "I didn't know we were going anywhere. Where're we going?"  
  
"It's a surprise!" Ryan grinned as he took my hand and led me in the garage. Ryan picked up his snowboard. Eric and Roy did the same as they all piled into the van. I was already sitting in the front seat, a little annoyed. They always liked to tease me. I didn't have a snowboard at the time, and I was always forced to watch them snowboard. I never complained. It was fun to watch them snowboard. My dad always told me that snowboarding is for boys, and that I couldn't handle it. I was just a little girl. Roy always teased me about that, but I always told him to shut it. I always liked to watch them snowboard, since this was before the SSX league even started.  
  
Dad started the van and slowly pulled out of the garage, out of the driveway, and soon enough, we were at the snowboarding gear shop.  
  
"What're we doing here?" I asked, hopping out of the van.  
  
"You'll see!" Ryan winked.  
  
"Huh?"  
  
I was completely baffled. Roy rolled his eyes, "You're a little slow, aren't you Yuri?"  
  
"What?"  
  
This only caused Roy to laugh. "Yep, slow. Make that VERY slow."  
  
I pouted, "Dad!"  
  
"C'mon, guys, you've been arguing all night cause of those video games. Can't you give it a rest?"  
  
I shut my mouth and only followed the boys into the shop. My dad handed Mr. Ty a check.  
  
Mr. Ty. His real name was Tyler Richardson, but we always called him Mr. Ty. "Hey, girl," Mr. Ty smiled at me, "Aren't you excited? You're gettin' your first snowboard!"  
  
My eyes grew in admiration as Mr. Ty went into the back room and pulled out the most beautiful snowboard I had ever seen. It looked a little rough around the edges, but I didn't mind. It was a used board, but it didn't matter to me. It was baby blue, with pale green stripes running through it. On the bottom, it had a chibi panda character on it. It was gorgeous.  
  
Roy grinned wickedly, "So? Get it now?"  
  
I squealed in utter delight as Mr. Ty handed it to me. "Happy birthday, kid,"  
  
"Thank you! Oh, thank you!"  
  
And there you have it. My first snowboard.  
  
Ever since then, my brother and my cousins and I have been the best friends in the world. We were the inseparable team. The Fantastic Four. They were so important to me.  
  
I smiled as I recalled those memories. I missed them so much. I'd never been away from them for so long. And just imagine...my first broadcasted race was next week, against Nate, Allegra, Kaori, Viggo, and Griff.  
  
Griff.  
  
I didn't know if I hated Griff still, or if he was my friend. Trust me, it takes a lot to get me mad. 


	13. Challenge!

Chapter 13  
  
The lodge was quiet for the next couple of days. Griff and Zoe had their feuds, but Griff and I stopped talking to each other. It wasn't anything big. It wasn't like Griff and I would glare at each other during breakfast, it was more like I would pretend he wasn't there, and he would do the same.  
  
Kaori frowned upon our behavior, but dismissed it otherwise as just being "kids". Moby had kept his promise and apologized to Griff and told him that I never told him anything, but that didn't stop Griff from ignoring me. Atomika had also seen to it that my leg was fixed up so I could still board. I talked to him about my pain during my race with Moby, and he had the medical team come in and examine me. I protested a lot (I hated doctors with a passion) but Atomika wouldn't hear of it.  
  
Ever since my loss against Moby, I was determined to win anything at Happiness. I practiced there almost every day, sometimes with Kaori. Most of the time, I went alone. Half of the time, however, Kaori had sent Nate to watch me, incase my leg should give away like it almost did before.  
  
On this particular day, Nate was told to follow me once again. I pretended I didn't notice him, but in the end, I turned around and called out to him.  
  
"You know, if you're trying to follow me without me noticing, you're doin' a pretty lame job!" I said, grinning.  
  
Nate sighed and came out from his hiding spot (a fairly large pine tree) and raised his arms in defeat. "You win, you win,"  
  
I smirked triumphantly. "How long have you been following me out to Happiness, anyway?"  
  
"Well, ever since you started going out to Happiness. Kaori didn't want anything to happen to you, so she forced me to baby-sit you,"  
  
"Baby-sit?" I groaned, "I'm not a baby, you know!"  
  
"Yeah, well, that leg of yours still hasn't healed all the way, kid," Nate said, "So, just in case..."  
  
"Yeah, just in case..." I mumbled.  
  
"Besides," Nate grinned cheekily, "What's wrong with me watching you? You're not that bad, Yuri,"  
  
"Really?" I blushed, "You really think so?"  
  
Nate nodded, "I'd like to see you put those skills you got to work in next week's race. You got a tough line-up, I hear,"  
  
I sighed, "You're right. I have to go against Allegra. I'm a little worried, I heard from Elise and Zoe that she totally kicks!"  
  
"Totally kicks?" Nate chuckled, "You're really starting to use their vocabulary, aren't you? Anyway, I wasn't talking about Allegra, Yuri, I was talking about me."  
  
"You?"  
  
"Yeah, you have to race me next week,"  
  
"Oh no..." I buried my face in my hands.  
  
"What's wrong? You know I totally kick?"  
  
"No, it's not that. You're my friend, Nate. When I smash your face into the snow, you're not gonna stop talking to me, are you?"  
  
Nate looked a little dumbfounded at first, but then laughed, "Sure, sure, don't worry about it. As long as I can push you down first,"  
  
I rolled my eyes, "Nope, not gonna happen,"  
  
"You know, for a girl, you got quite the ego,"  
  
I smiled, "Yep, always have! My brother taught me that you never let your competitors think you're scared! You have to be intimidating! No matter how scared you are on the inside!"  
  
"Well, missy," Nate started, "I think you just let your secret out,"  
  
I opened my mouth to retaliate, but I couldn't think of anything to say.  
  
Nate only laughed. "Yep, secrets out!"  
  
"Big deal," I retorted, "I can still beat you fair and square,"  
  
Nate shook his head. "Whatever you say. Now how about a run down through the course?"  
  
"Um..."  
  
Nate laughed again, "Not so sure about beating me now, are you?"  
  
"You're the leader of Peak Two! You beat me by a mile in that race!"  
  
"How about a show-off event?" Nate asked.  
  
"No way!" I said, "I can't trick if my life depended on it!"  
  
"C'mon, you gonna have to trick eventually! You can't move on to the next Peak if you can't!"  
  
"I guess I lost already," I mumbled.  
  
"No you didn't. I'll help you,"  
  
"Really?"  
  
"Yeah," Nate smiled, "Tomorrow, same time, same place. Okay?"  
  
"Okay,"  
  
***  
  
Nate taught me everything he knew. Every morning, Nate and I would go to the top of Peak One and race down Happiness. Three days later, I could beat him. I beat him nearly every time! It was a close match every time though, and sometimes I could swear he was letting me win.  
  
I was getting better each day, and Nate helped me practice. I kind of felt for Nate, like in a big brother way. He was so cool and nice to me ever since I first met him!  
  
Nate and I were practicing one morning (I was burying his face in the snow, I was so good!) when Mac showed up. I could feel my cheeks go red when I saw Mac watching me. I widened my eyes in shock and gasped when I landed.  
  
"Mac! What're you doing here?"  
  
"You been practicing here every mornin'?"  
  
I nodded. "With Nate. He's been teaching me everything he knows."  
  
"Yo, Yuri, show me what you got trickwise," He proudly, "I'll screw you up, girl!"  
  
I raised an eyebrow, "Hmph. From what I hear you lost your throne to Allegra,"  
  
Mac huffed, I could see the anger in his eyes at the mention of "Allegra", "That doesn't stop me from keeping you outta the way,"  
  
Nate came up behind me and glared at him. "Don't try anything stupid, Mac. She just healed from the accident with Stark,"  
  
Mac ignored him, "I wanna see what the kid's got,"  
  
"I wouldn't be calling me kid," I said playfully, "You don't act so grown up yourself,"  
  
Mac's face flushed.  
  
I smiled, "I'm just playing, now are we gonna race or what?"  
  
Mac nodded, "Alright, prepare to lose,"  
  
"Being cocky so he won't know you're scared?" Nate whispered in my ear.  
  
I nodded.  
  
"Let's do this,"  
  
"Happiness course. See you at the end, girl," With that, Mac pushed off. I groaned and pushed off myself.  
  
I turned up my M-comm full blast and tried to ignore the nervousness in my as I listened to "Thrice". I liked that song. Everytime it came on it gave me a new confidence.  
  
I was going to start out simple. I did a 180 on the ground to build up speed. This was it. I was going to get Mac out of my way, and then I was going to beat Allegra.  
  
"It doesn't matter who makes it down the bottom first," I whispered, still trying to calm myself down. "It's all about the tricks..."  
  
I saw an approaching ramp and bent my legs a little so I could push off.  
  
"Round About Spinster!" I shouted, executing the trick perfectly, "Hell yeah!"  
  
I could hear Nate laughing behind me when "Thrice" ended and Atomika was talking on the radio. Suddenly, I heard Atomika say my name.  
  
"Yes, Yuri Yoshioka is currently duking it out with Mac "Smack" Fraser on Peak One's Happiness course! Yuri, if you're listening, good luck, girl. You need a lot of points to match up to the race you missed,  
  
I rolled my eyes.  
  
"If she wins, she gets a total of $7,500 and a shit load of points!"  
  
I gasped. He had to be joking. He had to be joking.  
  
Joking or not, I leaned forward. I wasn't going to let Mac win now. I performed a forward flip while grabbing the nose of my board and laying down on it. Nate taught me that the more you move around on your board, the more points you rack up.  
  
I needed points...I was so far behind everyone that it wasn't even funny!  
  
I closed my eyes and prayed that by some miracle I could beat the Mac Fraser. 


	14. Becoming Friends Again

Chapter 14  
  
AN: Love you reviewers! I love the story Dark Angel From Hell, too. Sandy is now one of my favorite OC!! It's so fun making OC, huh? I'm still kind of stuck on Icy Paradise. I know what I want to happen with that story, but I'm still kind of iffy about it. You'll see when I post the next chapter. Also, about this story, I know who I'm gonna hook Yuri up with! You'll see! I knew who I was going to hook her up with by my 3rd chapter! Hee hee!  
  
I lost track of Mac soon enough, and I couldn't see him let alone estimate his score. I just did my best as I listened to Atomika talk about the upcoming Freestyle event at The Junction.  
  
I nailed most of the fallen trees and such (which made good railing) and managed to somehow catch a few moments of air at the same time.  
  
Mac had taunted me the first couple of minutes of the race, but when I lost track of him, I couldn't hear him anymore. I tried to remain calm, I tried to tell myself that it didn't matter if he was ahead of me or not. He could still be ahead of me and lose. He would cross the finish line and that would give me more time to execute more tricks. Every opportunity I got I spun as quick as possible. I grabbed the back end of my board and tried to ignore the feeling I got when I soared through the air.  
  
Next thing I knew, I could hear a rumbling sound.  
  
"Oh shit!" Nate yelled behind me, "Yuri, go, go, go, go!"  
  
I glanced over my shoulder and I could see snow rumbling after me. My first instinct: "AVALANCHE!"  
  
"Ignore it! Just go, Yuri!" Nate bellowed, "There's no time to lose!"  
  
I held my breath as I tried to ignore the falling debris and the low rumbling sound slowly coming up from behind me. Nate was now at my side to my right and begging for me to move faster. I took a deep breath and turned up the volume on my radio to ignore everything, even Nate.  
  
The fallen trees looked like perfect examples of railing. I pushed off, determined to beat Mac and spare my life.  
  
I started laughing when I was jumping off one tree. Nate looked so concerned and wigged out! Nate looked at me, puzzled, but dismissed my laughter as he too began to laugh with me. We were both outracing the avalanche, and it seemed everything was going to be alright.  
  
When I looked over my shoulder again, everything seemed to have calmed down. The snow stopped moving, but I could barely see the tips of the trees. They were completely covered in snow....  
  
I pulled off my head phones and grinned at Nate, who was laughing nervously, "That was great!" I shouted.  
  
Nate nodded and gave me a thumbs up. "You pulled some great moves, too,"  
  
"Really?" I beamed. I guess the saying "you work well under pressure" is true!  
  
I could see Mac down below. He was sitting on the snow relaxing and waiting for me to show up.  
  
"Hey, Mac!" I waved.  
  
He smiled and returned to wave. "What up, Yuri?"  
  
I slowed down and coasted next to him. "Now how do we find out who won?" I glanced from Mac to Nate.  
  
"Simple," Mac replied, "Atomika can see anything that goes on. He's got cameras all over the mountain. We just check in with him later today and see who won,"  
  
"Or better yet," Nate said, "you could just listen to his show and he'll announce it in a couple of minutes,"  
  
Mac shrugged, "That too,"  
  
"Cool!"  
  
***  
  
It turned out Atomika wasn't able to say much of anything over the radio anyway. A big snow storm suddenly blew in from the north and forced all the boarders to go into our lodge, and Atomika wasn't exactly too happy about that.  
  
Psymon was busy sulking in the living room of the lodge. He had been forced to cut his practicing short and was upset, according to Elise, who had been trying to find out what's wrong with him. "He said he was perfectly content with practicing out in the blizzard," Elise rolled her eyes, "That man, I swear..."  
  
"He's reckless and determined," I shrugged, "That's exactly what he's supposed to be like if he's going to defend his position on Peak Three, you know,"  
  
I poured the hot water into a coffee mug while Elise sighed and helped me carry the mugs out to everyone in the living room. The fire cackled slowly, and everyone seemed to be bored with the lack of action.  
  
"Yuri," Elise whispered, "You should thank Psymon for helping you out there on Peak Three when your leg was thrashed,"  
  
I paused, "You know, I never did..."  
  
"You should," Elise repeated, "He told Atomika it was his fault and that you were a newbie and didn't know as much as him because he's a veteran. He said that if it hadn't been for him, you would've been fine anyway."  
  
I nodded.  
  
"He got chewed out by Atomika pretty badly, and Atomika said that if he wasn't in such a good mood, he would've stripped Psymon of his Peak Three pass and just gave to someone else."  
  
"Are you serious!?"  
  
Elise nodded gravely, "You should really talk to him,"  
  
"Alright," I said, "I will."  
  
I set the mugs down for everyone and approached Psymon cautiously, who was leaning against the window muttering darkly about how Atomika should die and burn.  
  
"Uh...Psymon?"  
  
He turned around almost immediately and stared at me, "Yuri?"  
  
"I just wanted to say thanks for helping me out at Peak Three,"  
  
Psymon grunted, "No problem. You didn't think I was going to let you die out there, did you?"  
  
"Well..."  
  
Psymon laughed, "You shouldn't believe everything the media says about everyone in the league. They barely know us."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
"Trust me, Yuri, you'll find out for yourself soon enough,"  
  
I didn't really understand what Psymon meant by his words at the time, so I dismissed it as some of his crazy ramblings. I knew that he meant you shouldn't judge someone just because of what other people say about that person, but I didn't know what he meant when he said "you'll find out soon enough". That kind of frightened me a little.  
  
"Hey, Yuri," Nate said, placing a hand out my shoulder, "How about some cocoa, eh?"  
  
I nodded, stepping away from Psymon. I didn't catch the last words he muttered as I walked away, but I was sure it was something about Atomika.  
  
***  
  
Griff was sitting on the couch, arms folded and eyes threatening to shoot laser beams at the next person who asked, "Hey, man, what's wrong?"  
  
I noticed him, and I kind of felt bad for him. Everyone had kind of stopped being his friend ever since he trashed my room. Everyone but Nate.  
  
As I sat there and reminded myself why I wasn't talking to him, I realized that the only people Griff had really bonded with were me and Nate. And that I had deserted him for some silly little picture.  
  
But then I reminded myself that it wasn't just some silly little picture, it was my family. My only family since my father died. Ryan had always told me that my dad was going to play in the Olympics, or something big like that.  
  
But when he died...  
  
He was the only family Ryan and I had, except our cousins. Eric was living with us and even though he was my cousin, he was more like the other brother I never had. After my father died, Roy's parents had decided to take us in and take care of us. We were never really close to Roy's parents. They kind of let us do our own thing, and as soon as Ryan got his driver's license, we were always up at the mountain ripping it up.  
  
"I SWEAR, YOU'RE SUCH A TYPICAL GUY!"  
  
"YEAH? GOT A PROBLEM WITH THAT? I'M SURE YOU KNOW HOW GUYS ACT, SEEING AS YOU DRESS LIKE ONE!"  
  
"YOU LITTLE PRICK!"  
  
I jerked my head up and saw Allegra quivering with anger. She was facing Mac, and her face was blotched with rage. "YOU'RE JUST MAD BECAUSE I STOLE YOUR THRONE!"  
  
"WHAT?!" Mac roared, "WHAT?!?"  
  
"GROW UP FRASER!" Allegra screeched and stomped off to her room.  
  
Mac sighed and buried his face in his hands, "That woman..."  
  
Zoe placed her hands on her hips and approached him, "What did you say to her?"  
  
Moby was behind Zoe, flailing his arms helplessly and mouthing the words, "Don't get her angry" to Mac.  
  
Mac snorted, "All I said was 'boxers or briefs?'"  
  
Zoe shook her head and groaned, "You should know better. You're mouth gets you in trouble all the time, Mac,"  
  
"I don't have a big mouth!" Mac retorted before casting a fleeting glance at Kaori, "Do i?"  
  
Kaori sighed and retreated to the kitchen. Poor girl.  
  
Mac looked from the kitchen door to Zoe. "Kaori?" he whispered, "Kaori?"  
  
He ran to the kitchen, leaving Zoe speechless. "That man..." she murmured, "I can't believe him,"  
  
Moby nodded, "He's just a little kid still. And Kaori, he's really embarrassing her,"  
  
(Oh no...poor Kaori...)  
  
***  
  
Nate collapsed on the couch next to me while I was busy typing on my laptop.  
  
"What're you doing?" Nate asked innocently.  
  
"Writing to my family,"  
  
"I wouldn't do that," Nate said mischievously.  
  
"What?"  
  
"Why don't you talk to Griff, huh? He's been talking about you."  
  
"About me?"  
  
Nate nodded, "Yeah, he's been really upset lately. He wants to be your friend and all, but he told me he's not sure if you like him anymore."  
  
"I do, it's just-"  
  
"Then go talk to him,"  
  
"I..."  
  
I couldn't protest, as Nate had shoved me towards Griff. Griff was sitting on the floor, toying with the chess pieces by himself.  
  
"Er...Griff?" I asked nervously, "You need a chess partner?"  
  
Griff looked up and me and gasped. I could tell he was surprised to see me; he wasn't really good at hiding it.  
  
"Yuri...uh...yeah..." he motioned for me to sit down and I did. "I've been wanting to talk to you," he mumbled, still not meeting my eyes.  
  
I was happy to hear that, I had to admit. "Really?"  
  
"Yeah, you see, I've been thinking about what I did to you, and I'm really sorry,"  
  
"Don't worry about it,"  
  
"I was just all worked up over Elise and-"  
  
"By the way, what about Elise?" I asked, cutting him off.  
  
"She's been ignoring me,"  
  
"I'm sorry, Griff,"  
  
"I'm the one who needs to be apologizing!" he said angrily, "I was the mean one who went and trashed your stuff!"  
  
We were beginning to attract attention. Elise and Nate were watching us from the couch and Kaori was absentmindedly staring at us.  
  
"Look, Yuri, I'm really sorry I was stupid enough to believe that you would tell my secret. I'm sorry, and I promise I'll never do something like that again. I miss having you as my roommate and I miss talking to you,"  
  
I sighed, not really sure what to say, "Griff..." Psymon turned his gaze from the window to us. Moby froze and dropped his playing cards when he saw what Zoe was looking at. Everyone was staring at us.  
  
"I also talked to Atomika..."  
  
"Griff..."  
  
"-and he said that you're brother and cousins could come up to stay with us at the lodge,"  
  
I froze. "Ryan? Roy? Eric?"  
  
Griff nodded. "They can stay with you if you'd like, but they can't compete or anything. I convince Atomika to let them-"  
  
Griff never got to finish his sentence. I tackled him and embraced him in a hug, knocking over the chess board with chess pieces flying everywhere with tears of joy streaking down my face, "Griff, you're my best friend! I'm so sorry I never talked to you after you did that! I'm really sorry I was so stubborn!"  
  
Nate was grinning, I could see through my tear filled eyes. "Kaori?" he called out to the kitchen. Kaori jumped in surprise and quickly looked away from me and Griff.  
  
"Yes, Nate?"  
  
"You don't mind rooming with Mac, do you? I think Griff and Yuri want to be roommates again," 


	15. Unwanted Enemies

Chapter 15  
  
Ryan, Eric, and Roy were scheduled to arrive the next day in the evening. Griff and I had meanwhile gotten all of our stuff situated in one room, and had agreed never to touch each other's belongings ever again.  
  
Griff and I both had a show-off event at the Junction that night after my family was to arrive.  
  
"Who are we going against anyway?" I asked Griff, who was waxing his board.  
  
"Everyone including Allegra," Griff said, "I don't like Allegra, she's too quiet,"  
  
I nodded, "Yeah, I don't think she likes me anyway,"  
  
"You're right, you know. Viggo told me,"  
  
"Viggo?"  
  
"Yep, Viggo and Allegra get along pretty well if you ask me," Griff emphasized the word 'pretty'. I giggled.  
  
"So you've been talking to Viggo?"  
  
"Yeah, I mean, the guy talks, you know? Allegra doesn't really like me that much anyway, but I hear she really detests you and Kaori,"  
  
"Why? Does she have something against Japanese people?"  
  
Griff shook his head, "No, it's not that...it's just that...well..."  
  
"What is it? You can tell me, you know,"  
  
"Well, I dunno if I should, but Allegra hates me anyways so I guess I could." Griff paused, grinning evilly, "She hates you because she just plain hates you and hates Kaori because she has a crush on Mac,"  
  
I gasped and covered my mouth, "You're kidding, right?"  
  
Griff smiled and shook his head, "Nope. That's exactly what I heard from Viggo,"  
  
"Viggo told you that?"  
  
"Yeah, you don't think Allegra told me herself, did you?"  
  
"But...Mac and Allegra got in a really big argument last night!" I protested, "How can she like Mac?"  
  
"Well, Allegra likes to show her feelings in odd ways, or so I hear,"  
  
"If Allegra has a crush on Mac and argues with him consistently, that must mean that the evil glares she gives me every time I see her means she wants to be my friend," I muttered, "She's weird,"  
  
Griff shrugged, "She's a tomboy and she's mean. She just doesn't want anyone to get under her shell, if you know what I mean,"  
  
"What do you mean by that?" I asked, "You're telling me she has a soft spot?"  
  
Griff sniffed, "For Mac,"  
  
Griff and I laughed, "Griff, it's good to have you as a friend again,"  
  
"Same here, Yuri,"  
  
***  
  
I ran outside with my board flung over my shoulder to see the crisp snow. The boarding conditions still weren't all too good, but that wouldn't stop me from boarding! Besides, Atomika had said he was going to announce if I had beaten Mac or not!  
  
I turned on my M-comm and strapped on my board.  
  
"And welcome to another beautiful day on Peak One, all you riders out there! It's your favorite DJ, Atomika is on the air! I'll be announcing later today who won the backcountry showdown between Yuri and Mac! Good luck you two! Now, to start your day, I'm gonna play some Ceasers for you,"  
  
Okay, not bad, but I really wanted to hear who won! Suddenly, the doors to the lodge burst open and out came Kaori, laughing all the way. I spun around and gasped. "Kaori...what the hell did you do?"  
  
"Not me, Psymon!"  
  
Kaori had pink hair.  
  
"Er...very...pink..."  
  
"No!" Kaori said, smiling, "Not pink, magenta. Psymon says it is magenta!"  
  
"Since when did you and Psymon do each other's hair?" I said, "Or was it a prank?"  
  
"No, no," she shook her head, "Psymon was going to do it as a prank, but I wanted pink hair so I let him!"  
  
I laughed, "You're kidding, right?"  
  
Kaori shook her head, "No, remember when Psymon made my hair blue? I told you about that, right? Well, he was going to make it pink!"  
  
"WHAT IN THE NAME OF SNOW PATROL!?!" I heard Mac bellowing back in the lodge, "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO WITH MY BEANIE!?!?"  
  
Mac came out after Kaori, huffing.  
  
Kaori gasped, "Mac! You're beanie! It's magenta!"  
  
"Magenta..." Mac whimpered, "It looks more pink if you ask me..."  
  
Kaori and I looked at each other and murmured "Psymon" simultaneously.  
  
Griff came spilling out of the lobby after Mac, with a video camera. "And this here is the once self-proclaimed boss of Peak one, Mackenzie Fraser. As you can see, folks, he isn't so 'manly' as he claimed to be!"  
  
"You little punk!" Mac dove after Griff, who only ducked and scampered back into the lodge. Kaori and I exchanged looks. We both began laughing at the same time, clutching our belly as we bent over and laughed.  
  
"Griff is a very cute 12 year old boy," Kaori giggled.  
  
"He's more like a dork if you ask me," I mumbled, still fighting off my fit of laughter.  
  
"You like my new hair, though?"  
  
I nodded, "It's very...different...just don't go blonde on me, okay? I've seen Japanese blondes, Kaori, and trust me, they don't look good!"  
  
We both snickered.  
  
"Alright, kiddies, now for yesterday's announcements," Atomika said over the radio.  
  
"Wait, wait, they're going to announce whether I won or not!" I shouted, "MAC! THE RESULTS ARE IN!"  
  
Mac came spilling out once again with his 'magenta' beanie still on. He swiped one of the ear phones from me fixed it in his ear. "Well, dammit, Atomika, speak!"  
  
"Yesterday, while the rest of the boarder's were out on training all over Peak one, Yuri Yoshioka and Mac 'Smack' Fraser were busy duking it out on the Happiness course, rippin' it up for points. Mac Fraser came in with a total of 172,534 points, shattering newbie Allegra's record she held over Mac. It seems Mac has taken control over his throne once again with a new record to beat,"  
  
I let out a sigh and tried to ignore the look of triumph on Mac's face.  
  
"However," Atomika continued, "the victory Mac has will be short lived, as Yuri Yoshioka now dominates the course with a shocking record of 201,094 points, pounding Mac's fresh victory into the dirt."  
  
I began screaming immediately. Mac brought his hands up to his ears on instinct to shield him from my screaming and Kaori only jumped up and down with me to celebrate.  
  
"You vets gonna let a 14 year old newbie become the boss of Peak one? I don't think so..." Atomika clicked his tongue in mock disapproval, "Congratulations, Yuri, all awards and trophies will be given out at the end of the circuit, so be patient. Well, well, now let's see..." I could just imagine Atomika grinning evilly, "in other news, tonight's Junction event promises to be trick-worthy. The following competitors will be scheduled to head up to the Junction tonight after special guests of the new 'Queen Yuri' show up. Yuri Yoshioka, to defend her trick throne; Allegra to get her throne back; the young and energetic Griff Simmons to just annoy the hell out of everyone; Psymon Stark, to prove that Peak One is heaven compared to his Peak Three terrain; Elise Riggs, even though her tricks suck and she's all speed; and Kaori Nishidake, to show everyone her tricky, tricky ways."  
  
Kaori squealed. "He said my name? I am due to the Junction tonight?"  
  
I nodded. "Yep, I have to face Allegra, too. And it seems I am the new boss of Peak one trickwise..."  
  
"Which is bullshit," Mac snorted. "Dammit..." He stalked back into the lodge after kissing Kaori's crown and throwing me the nastiest look I had ever seen.  
  
"Don't worry about it, Yuri," Kaori whispered, "Mac doesn't take well to losing. It's nothing against you...it's just that Mac thinks he has to prove to himself that he is the best..."  
  
I nodded. "Yeah, right. Where's Nate? I wouldn't have won this without Nate, Kaori! I have to go tell him!"  
  
***  
  
"You!? You're the new boss!?"  
  
I nodded.  
  
Nate was quiet. I grinned, waiting for his reaction.  
  
...  
  
"YOU WON! YOU WON! YOU WON! YURI WON! I TOLD YOU SO! I KNEW YOU'D WIN!!!" Nate bellowed as he embraced me. He hoisted me up in the air and paraded around the room, shouting, "SHE WON!"  
  
I giggled, my attempts to get free were futile. Nate was just too strong!  
  
Kaori smiled, "Everyone! Come in here! We have a new Peak boss to beat!"  
  
Griff flew in with Zoe on his tail and was panting heavily. I was now sitting on Nate's shoulder and grinned happily. "Griff! I beat Mac in the show-off event! I can trick! Thanks to Nate! He helped me practice!"  
  
"Coolio! Yuri's a boss!" Griff high fived me and turned his attention to Nate, "Yo, man, can you help me out?"  
  
Nate laughed, "No problem, but we all have to get ready anyway. It's late and Yuri's family should be arriving soon,"  
  
The lodge door burst open and Psymon stood in the doorway. "Guys,"  
  
We turned our attention to Psymon, who didn't look too happy.  
  
"We're packing up,"  
  
"Packing up?" Zoe said, "What do you mean 'packing up'?!"  
  
"I mean we're leaving." Psymon muttered darkly, leaning on his board for support. "We're heading down to the blue station to compete at the Junction. We'll be staying at the lodge over there. This lodge were now staying in was apparently booked for tourists, and if you want to share this lodge with a bunch of rotten tourists, then go ahead and stay. But," Psymon added hastily, "If you want to have your own privacy, then Atom-Man says we gotta get packed up and head for Blue Station's lodge and transport sector,"  
  
Griff scratched his head and paused thoughtfully, "Alright, Captain Squirm, you can tell Lieutenant Jumbo that we'll be in the transport sector by sundown before the wiggle people can catch sight of us on the pass!" 


	16. New Lodge New Challenges

Chapter 16  
  
"But what about my family?"  
  
"They'll meet us there tonight," Psymon said, "But you won't have a lot of time to visit with them. Seeing as you have an event tonight with yours truly," Psymon sneered, "we'll have to leave as soon as we get there,"  
  
"Now?" Zoe stepped up, "You mean we're leaving now to go to this new lodge?"  
  
Psymon nodded, "Where's the rest of you?"  
  
"Viggo is in his room," Griff said, "He had a rough day yesterday,"  
  
"Well, tell him to get his rich snobby ass up and packing. We gotta go," Psymon said, "And what about Mac?" Psymon raised an eyebrow and glanced at Kaori.  
  
"Present," Mac stuck his head out from the back rooms and waved at Psymon. Almost as discreet as his entrance, Mac was once again back in his rooms, probably packing, I figured.  
  
"Zo? Where's your English boy toy?"  
  
Zoe blushed, but narrowed her eyes. "Psymon, don't go there," When Psymon only tilted his head and smiled in mock amusement, Zoe sighed, "He's on Peak one somewhere probably. He's always out practicing, I'll beep him on the M-comm,"  
  
Psymon snorted, "Figures. Now who else are we missing?"  
  
"Allegra and Elise,"  
  
"Elise is out practicing," Nate said quickly, "She told me she'd be out for today yesterday. I'll beep her, she can't be that far,"  
  
"Yep, and that leaves Allegra," Psymon mumbled. "Where has that little newbie gone to?"  
  
At the word 'newbie', Nate, Griff and I jumped up angrily.  
  
The word 'newbie' had sort of become a foul word for Griff, Nate, Viggo, Allegra, and I. It was used as sort of a curse and all of the actual newbies took great offense to being called that. We preferred to be called "challengers" or "non-vets".  
  
"Yeah, yeah, so where is she?"  
  
Zoe shrugged, "Out on the slopes too, I guess. That girl has some sick moves. She is the leader of Peak one after all,"  
  
"Not anymore," I said quickly. "I beat her score,"  
  
"Oh yeah, sorry kid, I forgot already,"  
  
"You're kidding, right?" Psymon managed to say, "A little kid beat Mac and that eighteen year old tomboy?"  
  
Kaori beamed and ignored Psymon's remark, "Now I just have to challenge your score!"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Well," Psymon sneered, "when you're a peak boss, people are going to constantly challenge your score, and you're going to have to defend it. I'm sure Allegra is out there practicing to beat you large,"  
  
I gulped. "Right...I knew that..."  
  
Nate put a protective arm on her shoulder, "Don't be too mean to her, Stark, she just became a peak boss,"  
  
Psymon scoffed, "Right, Logan. Don't call me Stark. It can piss people off if you use their last names a lot. Am I right, Logan?"  
  
Nate frowned slightly, but ignored him.  
  
"Well, let's get a move on," Zoe said, clapping her hands together and breaking the tension, "Griff, go tell Viggo to beep Allegra and everyone get packing, we're going to have to transport to the Blue Station as soon as possible if we wanna meet the family,"  
  
I grinned. Eric, Roy and Ryan were going to be there! I couldn't wait!  
  
***  
  
Soon enough, everyone had their stuff packed away into the airplane thingy. I still wasn't sure what in the name of sliced pineapples it was, but I was sure to find out eventually.  
  
I boarded the plane and made myself comfortable next to Griff and Kaori. They both offered smiled and looked back at the door to see Psymon helping Nate load everything.  
  
"That frickin' Viggo," I heard Psymon mutter darkly, "Too frickin' lazy to do shit..."  
  
Nate nodded in agreement as they lifted several snowboards and some trunks that had someone's belongings in it.  
  
Viggo was too busy moaning and clutching his stomach to notice what they said.  
  
"He told me he doesn't feel too well," Griff whispered. "But I dunno, he wasn't this bad this morning,"  
  
"Goddamn, Elise!" Psymon grunted as he shoved one of the trunks into the plane, "You think you got enough shit!?"  
  
Elise smiled and shook her head haughtily. "A girl never has enough to accessorize,"  
  
"Accessorize my ass," Psymon mumbled. "Over at the blue station, the lodge over there has bunk beds and tighter rooms with less space. I took the liberty of checking them out," Psymon said quickly, "So you better room with someone you're close with,"  
  
"My family? Where will they be staying?"  
  
"We have a separate room for them, or so I hear," Psymon said, "so you won't be able to room with them,"  
  
"Oh..."  
  
"Hey," Griff beamed and put a hand on my shoulder, "Don't worry about it, we can be roommates still!"  
  
I grinned, "That's cool,"  
  
"Alright, where's everyone else?"  
  
"The only person we're missing is Allegra," Mac said, "She must've forgotten to check her M-comm,"  
  
Psymon shrugged. "Her problem. Let's go,"  
  
***  
  
It was pretty uncomfortable riding in that thing with everyone and their stuff. Viggo kept complaining about the bright lights and dizziness until finally it seemed like Psymon snapped. "Viggo," he had muttered darkly, "you say just one more word about your health and I swear to God I'll make you so numb you won't even be able to FEEL anything. Clear?"  
  
Viggo nodded his head shyly.  
  
It was horrible listening to Elise talk to Nate about Allegra, though. She wouldn't stop yammering about how Allegra had shoved her during the vets vs. newbies race. What bothered me the most, however, was the fact that Nate was actually listening and paying any attention to her. I don't know what exactly bothered me about it, but it bothered me nonetheless. Unfortunately, Psymon didn't care. He was too busy trying to hold back his own sickness. He had been threatening to throw up the whole time and that wouldn't be too nice. He was sneering at everyone and would moan quietly and clutch his stomach like Viggo as he leaned on Kaori.  
  
"Kaori," he hissed, "help...me..."  
  
With a shriek, Kaori had leapt up and landed in Mac's arms. Psymon's sickness seemed to disappear for a while as he laughed, but when the plane took a sharp turn, he was quiet once again.  
  
Moby and Zoe were busy talking about mountain bikes and racing to even notice the awkwardness in the plane.  
  
I was really uncomfortable because Mac kept on staring daggers at me. He really hated me, I knew that, but it wasn't my fault I won. I wasn't even expecting to win. Nate had just helped me out and seeing as Mac was the one who challenged me, I didn't think he would lose. He was so confident in all his abilities, but he was just too eager to charge at somebody and challenge them.  
  
Nate noticed the direction Mac's eyes were glaring at because Nate coughed loudly several times. Finally, when Nate got fed up with Mac not noticing his coughs, he tapped his head and muttered, "Whatcha lookin' at?"  
  
Mac quickly averted his gaze and stroked Kaori's hair, who was laying down on his lap smiling contently as she slowly drifted into sleep.  
  
In other words, the plane ride was complete hell.  
  
***  
  
"Panda?"  
  
I groaned sleepily and slowly opened one eye.  
  
"Panda? Are you awake?"  
  
I nodded and sat up. I looked back at where I was sleeping and noticed that I had been sleeping on Griff's shoulder. I shuddered. Griff was asleep, too. He didn't seem affected in any way by me sleeping there, so I shrugged and turned my attention to Kaori.  
  
"PB, the plane landed." Kaori whispered. I looked around and noticed that all of the boarders were sleeping, save for Kaori, me, Mac, Elise, and Psymon.  
  
Psymon looked relieved that the plane had landed but otherwise was fighting the sleep away as he tried to push himself up.  
  
He paused, waiting for something. "ALRIGHT YOU LOT! WAKE UP!"  
  
Almost immediately, everyone jumped up and shouted in alarm.  
  
Nate bumped heads with Elise, who was now fixing her hair and grumbling angrily. Viggo was the only one that wasn't disturbed by Psymon's yell.  
  
"What the hell was that for?" Moby bellowed angrily, "A simple tap on the shoulder would've done nicely, mate!"  
  
Mac snickered and Kaori rolled her eyes.  
  
"Let's get going, we gotta get our stuff unpacked," Psymon ignored everyone's threats and rude gestures and instead began lifting up everyone's things along with Nate. I picked up my backpack and my small suitcase and headed inside, prepared for the worse.  
  
The lodge wasn't that bad. There wasn't a breakfast nook, however, and the fire was a little smaller. The kitchen was just about the same with the exception of a big window that overlooked the Super Pipe area. Psymon had told everyone on the plane that the rooms were "first come first serve" so I chose the room that was all the way in the back hallway. Griff followed me and left his stuff and the door with me to claim the room. We both grinned and gave each other a high five for getting the best room. The rooms were a little smaller and the bunk beds were small and narrow with a small desk in the corner. The only difference in this particular lodge was the horrifying fact that there was only one bathroom.  
  
Mac and Kaori's room was right across from ours and we could see them getting everything fixed, but when Mac saw me and Griff waving at Kaori, he slammed the door in our faces much to our dismay.  
  
Viggo was unpacking his things in a one person room and waved at me and Griff when we passed by. "Hey, Viggo, how come there's only one bed in here?"  
  
"Because I'm bunking alone," Viggo said proudly, "I don't need a partner,"  
  
Griff rolled his eyes and we moved on to see who was with whom.  
  
I was surprised to see that Elise and Nate had gotten a room with each other. Nate saw me watching and waved happily. I smiled and waved back, but Griff winked and started making crude noises. I elbowed Griff lightly in the stomach and he groaned. "I take it you don't like Elise anymore?"  
  
Griff shook his head, "Apparently, Nate's the one that's got the hots!"  
  
For some reason, that upset me thinking that Nate and Elise would be sharing the same room. "What makes you think that?"  
  
"Well, for one, she's always talking to him and now they're sharing rooms!" Griff exclaimed as we passed Zoe and Moby's room and waved.  
  
"So? Maybe they're just good friends,"  
  
"Aw, c'mon, admit it,"  
  
I sighed and shook my head. "Whatever," I stopped suddenly and froze. "Griff..."  
  
"What?"  
  
"Do you realize that everyone has a partner except for Psymon?"  
  
"Yeah, and?"  
  
"Well, who ELSE doesn't have a partner?"  
  
"I dunno, who?"  
  
"Allegra," I whispered.  
  
"You're saying...Allegra and Psymon?"  
  
"Together sharing a room?" I finished.  
  
Griff gasped and ran for the door where Psymon was busy balancing a suitcase in one hand and pulling a trunk in the other.  
  
"PSYMON!" we both shouted in unison.  
  
"WHAT!??!"  
  
"You have to bunk with Allegra!" Griff yelled.  
  
"You're the only one without a partner!" I said after Griff.  
  
Psymon froze and dropped everything. "What?"  
  
"You're bunking with Allegra because everyone else has a partner."  
  
"Hold on..." Psymon muttered fiercely as he marched to the rooms in the lodge.  
  
Suddenly, Viggo came flying out of the back rooms with a suitcase right behind him.  
  
"THERE!" Psymon said proudly, dusting his hands off, "That right there is Allegra's partner,"  
  
"Newbie," Mac grinned, leaning over Viggo, "you should know that Psymon ALWAYS bunks alone," 


	17. The Junction

Chapter 17  
  
Elise snorted, "As if,"  
  
"You bitch!" Allegra shrieked as she lunged for Elise.  
  
"Oh no you don't!" Elise yelled back as she made a grab for one of Allegra's braids.  
  
I sighed pathetically and leaned back in the lift's chair and turned my attention to Kaori, who was happily watching the lights that were coming from below.  
  
"They're at it again," I mumbled.  
  
"Nani?"  
  
"They're at it again," I said a little louder.  
  
Kaori giggled, "They are not alike at all. I think Elise may hate Allegra more than Marisol,"  
  
"Damn straight!" Elise screamed as she ripped off one of Allegra's jelly bracelets, "Anything is better than this disgraceful red head!"  
  
"You're nothing but a stuck up whore!" Allegra shouted.  
  
Psymon laughed, "You gonna let her say that Elise?"  
  
"You," Elise snarled, "are by far the most pathetic piece of shit that ever crossed my path,"  
  
Allegra screamed and made another lunge for Elise. "You're just some snobby rich model girl who's too good for everyone!"  
  
"That's enough!" Kaori shouted.  
  
Everyone froze. Even Griff stopped swinging around the pole.  
  
"You are wrong about Ellie," Kaori said slowly, her eyes glinting with warning, "She is not like that! You do not know her, Allegra! You do not know any of us!"  
  
Elise stared at Kaori in shock. I widened my eyes and exchanged glances with Griff, who was just as stunned as I was.  
  
"Well, Allegra," Psymon said smugly, "I believe that's your cue for an apology,"  
  
Allegra glanced at Psymon and then at Kaori. She glimpsed at me narrowed her eyes.  
  
"What?" I said innocently.  
  
Allegra's eyes faltered. I could see in her eyes that she knew Kaori was right. Elise wasn't like that. She just made everyone assume she was. I thought back to my short conversation I had with Psymon back at the lodge when I was thanking him for saving me. "You shouldn't believe everything the media says about everyone in the league. They barely know us."  
  
"I..." Allegra murmured, "I-I'm...sorry, Kaori,"  
  
I knew how painful this must've been for her, apologizing to her enemy. I didn't quite understand what Allegra had a grudge against me for.  
  
"Don't apologize to Kaori," I said quietly, "you should be apologizing to Elise,"  
  
Elise smiled triumphantly when Allegra glared at her.  
  
"Apologize," Elise commanded.  
  
Allegra, despite her quivering fist, sighed and muttered, "Sorry,"  
  
"Happy, Ellie?" Kaori grinned.  
  
Elise nodded. "Now all I want to do is shove your face in the snow,"  
  
"I may not know you," Allegra said dangerously, "but that doesn't change the fact that I still think you are a bitch,"  
  
"No," Kaori giggled, "Ellie can be like that sometimes,"  
  
"WHAT?" Elise shrieked. Kaori dove behind me and shivered.  
  
"No, Ellie! Do not hurt me! I was joking!"  
  
Psymon snickered, "Well, THAT was interesting,"  
  
"WAIT!" Griff shouted, "LISTEN TO YOUR M-COMMS! ATOMIKA IS INTERVIEWING YURI'S FAMILY!"  
  
***  
  
"So," Atomika cleared his throat, "I saw you with Yuri when I first met her, right?"  
  
"Yeah," Eric put on his best smile, "I was with her when you first noticed her. I watched her tear it up on the mountain."  
  
Atomika nodded, "So, how would you rate against your sister?"  
  
"We're cousins," Eric said quickly, "She's not my sister. She's his sister," he said, motioning to Ryan.  
  
Ryan grinned, "Yeah, she's my sister. To tell you the truth, Yuri is pretty awesome. You saw her skill already, I'm sure,"  
  
Roy stuffed his hands into his pockets and shrugged, "I can beat her,"  
  
"Oh?" Atomika sounded interested now as he turned his attention to Roy. "You really think so?"  
  
Roy nodded. "Yeah, sure," he mumbled, "but you can't even touch her when she's racing. She's weird,"  
  
"I'm sure that's something she'd like to hear coming from you," Atomika said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.  
  
"Yeah, well, we love each other,"  
  
"We all snowboard," Ryan explained, "We never dreamed Yuri would make it into the SSX circuit,"  
  
Roy shrugged, "I have to admit I'm a little envious,"  
  
"That's to be expected. We're glad you're here. I've heard a lot about you,"  
  
"Uh-oh..." Eric sighed, "...she didn't say anything good about us, did she?"  
  
Roy, Ryan and Eric started laughing.  
  
"I can see that you are all good friends," Atomika commented.  
  
"We're not good friends at all," Roy muttered.  
  
"Yeah," Ryan said afterwards.  
  
"We're family," Eric finished.  
  
***  
  
"Wow, you are so lucky to have such nice cousins," Kaori beamed as she turned off her M-comm.  
  
"That was them?" I said, "That was them at The Junction?"  
  
"What'd you think?" Psymon said irritably, "They were interviewing them on the goddamn moon?"  
  
I rolled my eyes and ignored Psymon.  
  
Kaori nodded, "They are waiting for you to win, Panda,"  
  
"Me? Win?"  
  
"You can do this no prob," Griff said, "but I can bet you my giant super-soaker that you won't score higher than me,"  
  
"Alright," I declared, clasping Griff's hand in a deal, "You're on,"  
  
***  
  
We finally arrived at The Junction (with some threatening feuds between Allegra and Elise once again) and I looked frantically for my family. I didn't see anyone, but I was sure they were around there somewhere.  
  
Meanwhile, Kaori drug me off to the sign in gates where we would have to warm up and watch our fellow competitors. We were secluded, but the crowds were roaring with excitement. It was really nerve-wrecking to actually be the one on the spotlight. I remembered back to my first time coming to one of the SSX Tricky Tour races. Roy's dad had taken us to one. It was loud, sure, but it didn't matter to me. The fact that there were bright lights and clear skies was all that was floating around my head that particular day.  
  
But now, as I stood there facing the crowd for the first time, I felt like running away and ducking under my bed. It was so loud and...intimidating. It wasn't bright and sunny, but dark and flashy.  
  
The Junction itself was colossal. Griff was too busy arguing with Psymon about hand plants to notice.  
  
"Bet you can't do a hand plant for more than five seconds," Psymon sneered as he stretched his neck.  
  
"Oh yeah?" Griff piped up as he stopped waxing his board, "You're on!"  
  
Elise shook her head, "That kid's gonna one helluva mouth,"  
  
"Yes," Kaori nodded, "He could rival Mac's mouth,"  
  
Elise scoffed, "Not likely. Mac's mouth is the epiphany of huge,"  
  
I kept staring up at the audience as I waited anxiously for my name to be called. The security guards had to check our Peak Passes once again as we warmed up. The crowd was growing restless.  
  
"Alright, ladies and gentlemen," Atomika's voice boomed over the speakers. Automatically, people began cheering. "It is time for the first run of today's event,"  
  
I glanced over at Kaori, who only smiled and flashed a grin.  
  
"Today's first run up will be the Bombshell herself, Miss Elise Riggs!"  
  
Elise groaned, "I hate going first! Putting all this pressure on everyone!"  
  
***  
  
It turned out Elise had done horrible. Even though I was busy scanning the crowds for any sign of my family, I couldn't ignore the sound from the audience. I could tell by their gasps and sighs that Elise hadn't fared out as well as she'd planned. Besides, when she arrived back at the warm-up area, she wasn't so happy.  
  
"Oh no!" Psymon cried, "However will I beat that tremendous score of 92,043?"  
  
Elise replied with the finger.  
  
"Ellie!" Kaori said, "Griff is only twelve!"  
  
I giggled when Griff quickly jumped up to defend himself.  
  
Allegra stepped forward towards Elise and muttered something quietly, but no one could really hear her. Elise's face turned scarlet and she marched away. Allegra seemed surprised that Elise left, but otherwise smiled contently.  
  
***  
  
Competitors came and went.  
  
Psymon was in the lead with a massive score of 221,385.  
  
Kaori was far behind in second with the score of 189,340.  
  
Griff had managed to place second with a score of 145,850.  
  
Allegra had yet to go, and supposively, it was custom for the peak boss to go last.  
  
Allegra grinned wicked as they announced her name. She strapped on her board and winked at us as she coasted over to the starting gates.  
  
Allegra's run was nothing short of awe-spiring. With Psymon in the lead and Kaori right behind with Griff on her tail, Allegra was proving to be a worthy opponent.  
  
"And that right there is this year's trademark move, the DNL Flipit!" Atomika announced.  
  
The crowd screamed in applause as Allegra finished her run, coasting past the finish line, smirking triumphantly.  
  
I sighed. "This is going to be tough..."  
  
"You know," Elise muttered darkly, "I'm beginning to really hate her,"  
  
"So," Kaori said, ignoring Elise's comment, "what is your goal?"  
  
"Well...I want to at least get a higher score than Griff," I said hastily.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because then he'll owe me a super soaker!"  
  
Griff grinned, "You're not getting any supersoaker from me. I told you, you have to win to get it!"  
  
"No!" I said defensively, "You said I only have to get a higher score than you!"  
  
Griff shrugged, "So I lied,"  
  
I groaned, "Griff!!!"  
  
"Alright, alright, alright!" Griff said, "I'll give it to you if you get a higher score to me."  
  
I raised an eyebrow, "Shake on it."  
  
Griff thrust out his hand and clasped mine as we shook on our deal.  
  
"Yes! I have a supersoaker waiting for me back home!" I said happily.  
  
"You always use your ego as a defense mechanism?"  
  
I recognized that voice. "Nate?"  
  
Nate was standing before me, grinning. "Hey, thought I'd watch you head out. Remember the moves I taught you, okay squirt?"  
  
I nodded and smiled, "Okay."  
  
"Good luck, kid," he said, embracing me. I smiled contently and hugged him back.  
  
I couldn't help but blush when Griff started laughing.  
  
I brushed it off and left for the gates. My hands were shaking and my knees nearly locked up on me. Nonetheless, I told myself that I had to do this. It was an obligation. Besides...I was gonna win. Yeah. I just had to keep telling myself that this was easy. Just let your natural instinct take over you...right?  
  
"Don't stop moving at all! No coasting!" Nate shouted from behind, "You'll lose points!"  
  
I nodded and took a deep breath. This is what I've been waiting for.  
  
The lights were flashing in my face and Atomika began the countdown.  
  
"Ladies and gents, it's one of our favorite newbies, Yurioki Yoshioka!"  
  
I groaned. How'd he find out my entire first name?  
  
I sighed and strapped on my goggles, preparing for push-off. I tried to block out all the noise, all the sound, and especially the crowd. It made me swell with happiness when I knew they were actually cheering for me. But, on the other hand, I couldn't listen to them. I had to focus.  
  
The lights danced in front of my eyes, taunting me.  
  
"Alright, now," Atomika said over the speakers, "We have a special shout out for 'Queen Yuri',"  
  
I looked up at the announcers booth, puzzled. What was he talking about? Special shout out?  
  
"This one's from 'Mountain Man' Nate Logan, requesting the song 'Ride' for Yuri,"  
  
I glowed. This was my day. Nate really knew what I listened to. Techno and trance, baby!  
  
I rocked my body with the music and took a deep breath. Nate really knew that all I needed was to focus on anything but my nervousness, and he knew that I liked to focus on music.  
  
My goggles were strapped and secured, when all of the sudden, green light!!  
  
I shot out of my booth, racing down towards the Junction.  
  
On my first jump, I did simple moves such as the Indy and so forth. However, I remember what Nate told me and never stopped moving. He had talked to me before about combos and how much points you could nail with them. After the first couple of big air moments, I started pulling the fancy stuff.  
  
I did anything that came to mind.  
  
I first did my Lounge-about Spinster, showing my moves off to the crowd, and then I started pulling my board off and swinging myself over the board, managing to pull off some sweet gymnast moves.  
  
I nailed the Superman Bartender, and easily got the SSXorcist nailed.  
  
The whole thing was sort of a rush for me, all I kept thinking about was the music and my moves. I guess you could say it was like dancing, except for me, the board was my partner.  
  
I kept imagining Ryan, Roy and Eric watching me. I wanted them to see that I was competing with the big boys now. I was a professional snowboarder.  
  
I grinned, thinking of the words "Yurioki Yoshioka, super snowboarder extraordinaire!"  
  
Of course, that would never happen.  
  
The entire run through was over soon enough, and I found myself panting at the finish line.  
  
That was it. That was it. All I needed to do was over. Now I just had to wait for them to announce the winners.  
  
God, this was the greatest day of my life. 


	18. FamilyBonding?

AN: ANNOUNCEMENT! NEW STORY BY DRUM AND ME TO BE POSTED SOON! CHECK IT OUT!!!! IT'S SOOO COOL! Anyways, about this part of the story....it's a bit funny...you'll see why! ^_^ DRUM, YOU ROCK!!! He came up with this AWESOME plot and we made a joint account to post the story on! We're writing it together, and it's AWESOME! You guys will love it, I just know it! Look for it! It's SOOO much better than ANY of my stories! ^_^ Yuri will be in the story, too, so check it out! ^_^

Chapter 19

I stood next to Griff. They were going to announce the winners...

          "Get ready, Griff, I'll be expecting that super soaker,"

          Griff laughed, "Hah! Don't be so confident, Yuri. You may have done pretty well, but nothing beats the Griffmiester,"

          I only grinned, "Okay, whatever you say," 

          Psymon stood quietly alone, staring up at the screen. He was waiting patiently for the scores to appear, to announce whether or not Allegra or I managed to break his goal. I knew he was confident, though. I knew that he was sure that he was safe. 

          Nate appeared behind me and put his hands on my shoulders, grinning broadly. "So, Yuri," he said brightly, "ready to see your name in lights?"

          I smiled and nodded, "Yeah, I hope so,"

          "You did fantastic, Yuri, don't worry about it,"

          Elise was talking with Kaori near Psymon, but when she caught eye of Nate, she waved and walked over, immediately diving into a conversation with Nate.

          I sighed and glanced at Griff, who was laughing.

          "What?"

          "I just got it," Griff said, clutching his belly and laughing, "I just got it!"

          "Got what?" I demanded, putting my hand on my hip and glaring at him, "What do you mean?"

          "You like—"

          "Ladies and gentlemen!" Atomika's voice filled the Junction, "It seems we have some changes to make!"

          I jerked my head to the billboard, where Psymon's name flashed across the screen along with his score.

          "Shattering long-time records, Psymon Stark has taken gold!"

          The audience went wild, screaming and chanting Psymon's name.

          Psymon only grinned lazily, "What can I say?" Psymon said when he caught Elise's glare, "I'm a popular guy,"

          Kaori gasped when the next name flew across the screen.

          "Allegra Sauvegess takes second place with a score of 194,350!"

          Allegra smiled devilishly and approached Psymon, who was clapping along with everyone else.

          "Dammit," I heard Griff mutter, "I lost the bronze,"

          I shrugged, "Look at the bright side, I'll have the bronze, and I'll let you spit-shine it every once in a while,"

          Griff laughed and so did I. 

          "And in third place, taking the bronze with a score of 193,900, nearly beating Allegra's score, is Yurioki Yoshioka!"

          I felt my cheeks burn as I stared in awe at my name, which was now scrolling across the billboard. Nate cheered loudly and lifted me up on his shoulders, parading around. "Queen Yuri gets bronze!" He shouted triumphantly.

          I smiled and stopped myself from hugging Nate's neck. He probably wouldn't appreciate strangulation.

          "All winners report to the Winner's Platform, where you'll be awarded your prizes!"

          "Platform? Winner's?" I sputtered as Nate gently put me down, "W-what?"

          Psymon grabbed my arm gruffly and pulled me towards a secluded part of the area, which supposively lead to the Winner's Platform. With my board slung over my shoulder, I reluctantly followed.

          "Where are we?"

          "This leads us to the Winner's Platform and the photo shoots," Psymon muttered as he motioned for Allegra to move it. 

          "What's going on? What photo shoots?"

          Psymon grinned, showing off every single one of his teeth, "I forgot. You are but a _newbie,"_

          "Hey!" Allegra said angrily. 

          I also jerked away from Psymon and glared at him. "Don't call me that,"

          Psymon mockingly put a hand over his mouth, "Oh? Was that me? Was that me who used that _filthy word?" He rolled his eyes and turned around, marching off._

          "You were a newbie too! You were last year!" I said heatedly.

          Psymon stopped suddenly and grunted. I stopped, too, as well as Allegra. Psymon swirled around and brought his face right into mine and sneered, "Yeah," he whispered, "Yeah, I was. But I proved I had _skill_, Cheerios,"

          I could taste the smell of his breath. My eyes widened in shock as I hesitantly took a step back. I glanced at Allegra pleadingly, but Psymon only moved closer.

          "I have no respect," Psymon whispered, "for you, or for _any_ of you newbies."

          "Why?" Allegra said.

          "None of you can beat me," Psymon jeered, "no one can,"

          That was it for me. I gathered the last of my courage and narrowed my eyes. "I can,"

          Psymon laughed and took a step away from me.

          "Oh? You really think so? And what makes you think that?"

          "Nate's gonna help me." I said boldly, "I'll be better than you by the end of this circuit, Psymon Stark,"

          "Okay, Cheerios, as soon as you get a pass for Peak 3, call me," he snickered, "Oh, and by the way, this time don't let a little boo-boo get in your way,"

          With that, Psymon left Allegra and I standing alone, watching him walk away confidently.

          "Jackass," Allegra muttered.

***

The photo shoots were a bit uncomfortable. 

          Taking pictures with a maniac and your rival was horrible. Psymon kept making crude gestures at the camera, and Allegra would either be in a tomboyish stance or a feminine one. 

          I just did what I was told. Soon enough, it got boring, and I found myself remembering what Atomika said to me about Photo Shoots not being as fun as you think it is. All I kept thinking about was my family. Where were they?

***

"Hey! Here comes the winners!" Nate said, "How were the photo shoots?"

          Kaori waved from the couch and Elise smiled warmly. Zoe nodded in acknowledgement and Moby laughed.

          "Hey, look, the lil' blighter's back!"

          I beamed when I saw Griff. He had froth from his hot chocolate all over his mouth. He grinned lazily and waved. Mac didn't say anything, he just went back into the kitchen. 

          However, the one thing that caught my eyes wasn't Mac's behavior, or the silly grin Griff had plastered on his face, it was the familiar looked beanie. The back head of a person that I had been waiting to see forever.

          That tall 5'8'' boy with the sloppy black hair. The familiar baggy sweatshirt and those torn up jeans. I could spot him a mile away.

          "Ryan?"

          Ryan turned around and laughed, "Yuri, you actually won!"

          I screamed and ran to him, embracing my brother. "I missed you! Where's Eric and Roy?" I asked immediately, pulling away from him, "Where are they?"  
          "In our room with Viggo," Griff said, "They're checkin' out the new video games I got,"

          Ryan nodded, "Yeah, this kid's got some kickin' games, man,"

          My smile widened, "I missed you!" I said again. "Have you met everyone?"

          "Sure he has," Nate said, "But I dunno about the other two. They've been glued to that television screen ever since they set foot in here."

          "We've been talking with your family while you were busy takin' those photo shoot, Yurioki," Zoe said teasingly, "Atomika let us in on your full name,"

          I blushed, keeping my eyes on the ground.

          "Hey, kid," Psymon said, clasping hands with my brother, "Stark. Psymon Stark,"

          Ryan smiled and nodded, "Hey, nice moves, man,"

          I looked back at Allegra and gasped. She was staring at my brother with a weird look in her eyes. 

          "Hi," she said shyly, shaking my brother's hand, "I'm Allegra,"

          "Nice to meet you," Ryan said brightly. "I saw your heat, it was awesome,"

          "Oh?" Allegra couldn't stop smiling, "You really think so? Do you board?"

          "You bet,"

          "Where's Roy?" I said quickly to change the subject, "He's gonna be _tickled_ to death when he sees Psymon!"

          "I got a fan?" Psymon asked as he gratefully took a cup of hot cocoa from Zoe. 

          I nodded, "I thought I told you, my cousin Roy idolizes you!"

          The fire burned slowly as we all sat down on the couch. "Yuri's here!" Griff said loudly towards the back rooms.

          Eric ran out immediately and shouted, "Yo, Yuri!!" and tackled me, nearly knocking over my hot cocoa in the process. 

          Viggo came out and stuffed his hands in his pockets and said "Hey,"

          Roy kind of kept his distance but nodded at me and stared at Psymon in awe.

          "I...take it you're Roy?" Psymon asked apprehensively.

          Roy nodded, "Can I...d'you mind if...can I—?"

          "Yeah, you can have an autograph," Psymon laughed, "I get that a lot,"

***

"You were pretty awesome, Yuri. You almost beat Allegra's score, I heard," Viggo said as he took a sip of the coffee. 

          I blushed, "Thanks," 

          "Yeah, Psymon just has to show off, doesn't he?"

          I nodded, "But you know, that's okay. I'm just grateful that I got third." 

          "That's good,"

          There was a pause of silence between us. 

          "So, I've been messing with your...er...cousin, right?"

          I laughed and nodded, "Eric? Yeah, he was talking about you,"

          "Hey, watcha doin' in here, Yuri?" Nate came into the kitchen. 

          I grinned, "Nothing much. Just talking with Viggo,"

          "That's cool. You're family's waiting out in the living room, though." Nate said,  "Eric wants to take pictures,"

          "Aw..." I groaned, "Eric's just gonna get a big picture of his thumb again!" I followed Nate out to the lobby and immediately saw Allegra shouting at Mac.

          "You're a jerk!" she screamed, "You're nothing but a jerk!"

          Mac gave her the bird, "Yeah, I am!"

          Allegra grabbed her ponytails and screamed, "I hate you!!!!"

          Griff and I glanced at each other as Allegra retreated to her room. Viggo gasped behind me and whispered, "Allegra!" and followed her.

          ...

          "Okay everyone!" Eric said brightly, "Anyone up for some pictures!?!?"

***

Roy, Eric, Griff, and I stayed the night out in the living room, having a 'sleepover'. 

          "Yeah, we saw your precious move," Roy muttered, "Your 'round-and-about spinner' or something like that,"

          "_Lounge-about Spinster_," I corrected, "And yeah, it was _awesome!"_

          "You were awesome, Yuri!" 

          "Griff, what do you think happened with Allegra?" I asked quietly.

          Griff frowned, "She obviously doesn't like Mac any—"

          _Thump_.

          "Shut up!!!" I heard Elise scream, "I'm trying to focus!!!"

          "Hey..." I said slowly, "Where's Ryan?"

          THUMP.

          Griff and I exchanged glances. "Uh...Yuri, that was coming from our room,"

          I sighed and rolled my eyes, "Ryan better not be snooping around in my stuff again!" I jumped up and stomped over to my room with Griff, Roy, and Eric on my heels. 

          We all gathered around my door and stared at it slowly.

          "Yuri..." Eric whispered, "Do you want to open the door or not??"

          I slowly gripped the handle. 

          "Turn, Yuri...now you _turn the handle," Roy remarked._

          Griff snickered as I slapped Roy's shoulder.

          _Thump_.

          Something was hitting the walls...

          I turned the handle slowly, and screamed.

          "RYAN!??"

          "EW, MAN!" Griff covered his face and hissed, "You're brother's making out with your ARCH ENEMY!!!!!!!"

          Allegra screamed and covered her face with embarrassment.

          "Ry..." I whispered, "Please...oh god no...please don't tell me..."

          "She's beautiful, Yuri," Ryan sighed as he let his hands fall to his sides, "I love her,"


	19. Not So Good Impressions

Chapter 20

"What're you talking about!?" I screamed. I knew I was beginning to attract more attention, but that only fueled my anger. What...Ryan was doing...

            "What do you mean 'What am I talking about'? I love her," Ryan replied. Allegra only covered her face and retreated the back of Griff's side of the room in hiding. Griff was staring at Allegra in shock, and Roy was making what he liked to call 'lovey-dovey' faces at Ryan. Eric was just staring at me dumbfounded, glancing at Ryan every so often.

            "Love!?" I shouted, "What do you know about love, Ryan!? You're 17! You're only _seventeen_! You're telling me you're in love with a girl you just met 20 minutes ago?!"  
  


            Ryan glared at me dangerously, "Don't you _dare_ treat me like I'm your son, Yurioki. I'm your older brother. I'm the one that looks out for _you_, you understand?"

            "She's my rival!" I said defensively, "My _rival_, and you're making out with her in MY room!?"

            Griff nodded, "That's harsh, dude, like getting a girl pregnant in your mom's bed,"

            Ryan glared at Griff. 

            "Shut up." Ryan retorted.

            "Hey!" I barked, "Leave Griff alone! He did nothing to you and you're going to yell at one of my friends!?!"

            Ryan rolled his eyes, "Oh, _here we go, Yuri!_ You _always_ have to act like _you're_ the mom,_ you're_ the adult, _you're_ the responsible one, huh? Well guess what?" Ryan muttered, "We don't have a dad, Yuri! We don't have a mom, either! I'm my own person now!"

            "Don't turn this on me!" I screamed. 

            Griff put a hand on my shoulder, "Yuri, calm down, please,"  
  


            I ignored Griff and glared at Ryan, "You're so stupid! You haven't changed and you never will! You meet a girl, and you're making out with her 10 minutes later in my room! The only difference is that SHE'S _ALLEGRA_! THE GIRL THAT TRIED TO CLOBBER ME!"

            "QUIT ACTING LIKE DAD!" Ryan shouted, his face growing bright red, "YOU'LL NEVER BE MY DAD!"

            "And you'll never be what dad wanted as a son," I muttered fiercely and stalked off.

            "Where're you going!?" Ryan called from my room, "It's nearly midnight!"

            I pushed my way gently past Moby and Zoe, who were staring at me in horror. I walked briskly by Mac, who was blinking blankly. Kaori was frowning with sympathy and whispered, "Panda..." when I ignored her. Psymon was staring at me with shock, his eyes widened. But what hurt me the most was looking at Nate. Seeing his eyes and how he was looking at me.

            "Yuri...you gonna be okay?"

            "I just need to get out of here." I whispered, choking back my tears.

            I grabbed my board and bucket hat and marched outside, where it had begun to snow lightly. Griff ran up to me from behind. "Bad snowing conditions," he said casually, "You sure you just don't wanna chill tonight?"  
  


            I looked over at Griff and offered a weak smile, "I'm sorry you had to see me upset like that,"

            Griff only grinned, "Its okay. I'd be pissed too,"

            I sighed and hesitantly leaned over and brushed my lips across Griff's cheek. I could see through the white snow his red cheeks and his lazy grin on his face.

            "See you later," I said as I strapped on my board and coasted away.

  
***

Nate was following me.

            I pushed forward, jumping over various logs and rails on the way. I was nearing the Junction, and the second race for Peak One. It was dark out, and the lamplights that burned dimly seemed to be my only light. Nevertheless, I was in a reckless mood, so I continued to push my limits, speeding down over benches and trees. I wanted to see if Nate could keep up with me. Sure enough...

            "Yuri! Please, slow down! It's Nate!" 

            I grinned triumphantly, slowing my speed until I coasted to a stop. "Why're you following me?" I said to Nate when he stopped to where I was at. 

            "Because," Nate said, "I wanted to talk to you,"

            "About what?" I asked. I already knew what he was gonna do. He was gonna talk to me about my brother...

            "Stuff," Nate said hastily, C'mon, Yuri, its midnight and we're out boarding in the dark,"

            I sighed in defeat, "Okay, let's go back," I turned to leave—

            "Wait," Nate's hand shot out and grabbed my shoulder, "There are some lit benches up ahead just there. I really need to talk with you,"

            "But—"

            "Please?" Nate's eyes seemed to grow as he pleaded. I frowned, but nodded and reluctantly followed Nate with my board swung over my shoulder.

            "Yuri," Nate sat down and let his board down carelessly, "I thought you _wanted_ your brother to be here,"

            "I did—er—I do!" I said desperately, "It's just..._Ryan_...he's different..."

            "Different?" 

            I nodded and fumbled with my hands. I felt like a child who was being lectured, a child that was talking to the principal—Nate, even!—about why they hit Susie with a basketball. It was like every time Nate sighed and shook his head, it seemed like the principal was slowly dialing Roy's parent's number, to tell on me. "Ryan always thought he was better than us. Not snowboarding wise—that's Roy—but Ryan always just seemed to think that he was just _cooler_ than Eric, Roy and me,"

            "So...Ryan seemed to think he was better?"  
  


            "Yeah. Ryan has a...a...a _history_ with girls," I said quietly, keeping my eyes glued to the snow. The lamplights were dimming, and my feet swayed over the snow, not even disturbing the crisp layer that had just fallen. I felt so humiliated. I had behaved like such a child, yelling at my brother in front of Nate like that...

            "A history?" Nate raised an eyebrow. 

            I nodded silently.

            "Like what?"

            "Ryan...follows his own rules," I murmured, still unable to meet Nate's eyes. Nate was sitting with his legs apart and his arms leaning on his knees. His hands were folded and he was leaning over to get a better view of my face. I would only scoot further away, or look another direction. Nate was making me so uncomfortable...

            "His own rules, huh?"

            "What bothers me is not only that Ryan has a kid, it's that he meets a girl, and five minutes later he's all over her!" I said defensively, "And the worst part is that he's in love with Allegra! _Allegra_! Allegra _hates_ me!"

            Nate couldn't help but grin, "Allegra's a bit of an outgoing girl," Nate draped his arm around me as we walked towards the lift that would take us back to the lodge. "Don't worry about it. You're trying to take responsibility for him, Yuri. Just worry about yourself,"

            I managed a half-smile, "Thanks, Nate,"

            "What're friends for?"

***

            "Yuri!" Griff jumped up from the couch were he was sitting sulkily with Viggo. He ran towards me and embraced me, "What happened!? Are you okay!?"

            I nodded as Eric stared at me. 

            "You okay?"

            I nodded again.

            "No," Eric said slowly, putting a hand on my shoulder, "I asked if you were okay?"

            I giggled, "Yes, I'm okay,"

            "You promise?" he raised and eyebrow and stared at me long and hard, "I know things with Ryan are...a bit..._tangled_...but, I want you to know that we're here for you,"

            "I promise...I'm okay...and Ryan's problems don't concern just me, Eric. They concern you too,"

            Eric glanced at Roy, who was lying on top of his sleeping bag, reading a similar book for the fourth time. "Hey, Roy...Yuri's back,"

            "Spectacular." Roy mumbled, not even bothering to look up.

            Nate and I exchanged looks, but I shrugged. The only people remaining awake were me, Nate, Roy, Eric, and...

            "Yuri?"

            I looked over at the hallway leading to the rooms when I saw Viggo standing there, staring at me.

            "Yeah?"

            "Can...can I talk to you?"

            I nodded slowly as I followed him into the kitchen. 

            "I've been meaning to talk to you..." Viggo mumbled, "About Ally..."

            "Allegra?"

            He nodded, "I like Allegra. A lot."

            "And you don't want Ryan with her, huh?"

            He nodded again. "It just seems...wrong. Ally isn't the type of girl to just fall for someone she barely knows."

            "Well...I know Ryan _is_ the type of guy to pull off something like this..." I mumbled.

            "We have to split them up somehow..."

            I glanced at Viggo, "What? I-I...I dunno..."

            "Think about it, Yuri," Viggo said as he stepped away. "I just don't want to see Allegra get hurt, you know? Well, I have to catch up on my sleep for tomorrow, huh?"  
  


            I smiled, "'Kay. G'night, Viggo,"

***

"Yuri?"

            The kitchen door opened and I found myself staring at none other than Atomika. His purple tinted sunglasses were still on and his slick gelled back brown hair was still the same. He was wearing his heavy blue sweater and black jeans. 

            He leaned against the doorframe, "What're you doing eating breakfast at this time?"

            "Atomika...its 8o'clock in the morning. I think I have a right to eat breakfast at this time," I mumbled. 

            Atomika blinked blankly, and then glanced at his watch. "Oh man...it's already eight?"

            I nodded.

            "Shit..." Atomika rubbed his forehead and sighed. "Tonight is the second wave at the Junction, right?"

            "Yeah,"

            "Oh! Hey, Yuri! Congratulations, huh?" It was like Atomika had snapped out of it, "You know, that's pretty cool! You beat Kaori and Elise!"

            I smiled brightly, "Thanks, Atomika,"

            "I can't get over that...man, I mean two newbies and a vet win...how awesome is that?" Atomika pulled out a chair and straddled it, leaning his chin down on the table as he watched me eat. "Guess I picked the right people, huh?"

            "Hey...Atomika, why're you late?"

            "Whoa..." Atomika said, bringing his hands up in defense, "hold the questions...besides, I heard some things about you, Yuri, and I need to talk to you."

            "Talk to me about what?" I asked quickly. Oh _no_...this wasn't about Allegra, was it?

            "Hmmhmm..." Atomika folded his and paused thoughtfully, "How about...hmm...your _family_?"

            I stiffened absentmindedly and held my breath, "Family?" I breathed, "What do you mean?"

            "I interviewed your cousins and brother," Atomika started, "...as you may already know..."

            I nodded, still holding my breath.

            "Well, when I interviewed them individually, one of your cousins caught my eye,"

            I sighed. Okay...this wasn't about Ryan.

            "Roy, is it?" Atomika asked, "Well, anyway, Roy said that he could beat you in a race,"

            My heart pounded. Yes, Roy was spectacular at racing, but I still didn't think he could beat me. He got me in the tricks department, however. Well...who knew? Maybe, since I had been practicing with Nate and had won third place at the Junction, I was better...

            "And...?"

            "Well, I wanted to know if maybe you'd be interested in racing Roy today. In a televised session, I mean," Atomika added hastily, "If he beats you, we might consider him for the league instead of you."

            I was at a loss for words. 

            "B-but...you picked everyone already and..."

            Atomika laughed, "I'm just kidding! You don't really think he can beat you, can he?" Atomika leaned forward and stared at me contently. I couldn't meet his eyes.

            I glanced at my half-eaten toast and shrugged. "Roy and I have always been rivals ever since..."

            "Really? Well, that should make it all the more exciting, eh? How about we do this today?"

            "No, Roy, Griff, Eric and I are gonna race this morning."

            "Oh..." Atomika trailed off and stared down at the table. "Okay, well, how's this...Roy and you swing by the course Happiness and we'll have a little friendly race, okay?"

            "To Roy...it won't be friendly," I mumbled miserably.

            However, Atomika seemed to have been so wrapped up in his plans to have even heard me as he walked out of the kitched, "Okay, well, gotta go!"

            I glanced at him and sighed as I took another bite of my toast. Roy was gonna beat me. I knew it.


End file.
